Forecast and Tricast Bets: Types, Stakes and How They Pay

A forecast asks you to name the first two home in a race. A tricast asks for the first three. Both are old staples of UK and Irish horse racing and of greyhound racing, and both can pay far more than a win bet on the same runners. They also cost more than most people expect once combinations come into it, and the payout is usually a dividend worked out after the race rather than a price you can see on the bet slip.

This page covers every common version of the bet, how many lines each one contains, how bookmakers settle them with the Computer Straight Forecast (CSF) and computer tricast, how the Tote's Exacta and Trifecta pools differ, and what happens with non-runners and dead heats. For the wider picture of racing bets, start with our horse racing betting guide.

Forecast and tricast bets: the basic types

There are five versions you will meet on almost every racing bet slip. Each one is built from the same unit, a single line that names runners in a fixed finishing order.

• Straight forecast (also called a single forecast): one line. You name the winner and the runner-up in that exact order.
• Reverse forecast: two lines. You pick two runners to finish first and second in either order, so A then B, and B then A. It is sometimes labelled a dual forecast or forecast any order.
• Combination forecast: three or more runners, covering every possible first and second among them. The number of lines is n × (n − 1), where n is the number of selections.
• Straight tricast: one line. You name first, second and third in exact order.
• Combination tricast: three or more runners, covering every possible order of the first three among them. The number of lines is n × (n − 1) × (n − 2).

A reverse forecast is simply a combination forecast on two runners: 2 × 1 = 2 lines. A combination tricast on exactly three runners is the "any order" tricast, and it is already six lines (3 × 2 × 1).

Your stake is per line. A £2 reverse forecast is £2 on each order, £4 in total. Beginners often type £10 into a combination tricast and assume they have spent £10, so always read the total stake before you confirm.

Stake tables for 3 to 6 selections

The line counts grow quickly, and tricasts grow much faster than forecasts because there is a third position to fill. The tables below show the number of lines and the total cost at £1 and 50p per line.

Combination forecast, n × (n − 1):

• 3 selections: 6 lines, £6 at £1, £3 at 50p
• 4 selections: 12 lines, £12 at £1, £6 at 50p
• 5 selections: 20 lines, £20 at £1, £10 at 50p
• 6 selections: 30 lines, £30 at £1, £15 at 50p

Combination tricast, n × (n − 1) × (n − 2):

• 3 selections: 6 lines, £6 at £1, £3 at 50p
• 4 selections: 24 lines, £24 at £1, £12 at 50p
• 5 selections: 60 lines, £60 at £1, £30 at 50p
• 6 selections: 120 lines, £120 at £1, £60 at 50p

Without a dead heat, only one line can win, because only one finishing order actually happens. A six-runner combination tricast at £1 a line costs £120 and returns one tricast dividend at £1. If that dividend is below £120, you picked the first three home and still lost money.

Banker forecasts and tricasts

A banker is a runner you are confident about, fixed in one position while the others rotate around it. Bookmakers label these bets in different ways, so read the slip, but the usual forms are:

• Banker forecast: your banker to win, with each of your other selections to finish second. With a banker and four others that is 4 lines.
• Banker forecast any order: the banker to finish first or second with any of the others, which doubles the count. One banker and four others is 8 lines.
• Banker tricast: the banker to win, with every order of two of the others in second and third. One banker and four others gives 4 × 3 = 12 lines, £6 at 50p a line.

A full combination of the same five runners would be 20 forecast lines or 60 tricast lines, so bankers cut the cost sharply. The trade-off: if the banker does not finish where you fixed it, every line loses.

How forecasts and tricasts are paid: CSF and computer tricast

At a fixed-odds bookmaker you do not usually get a price for a forecast or tricast when you place it. The bet is settled at a dividend declared after the race. For forecasts this is the Computer Straight Forecast, almost always shortened to CSF. For tricasts it is the computer tricast dividend. Both are quoted as the return to a £1 stake, stake included, and appear in the official race result alongside the starting prices.

The dividends come from a formula based on the starting prices of the runners involved and features of the race, such as field size. The detailed formula is not published, so you cannot work out a CSF to the penny in advance. A CSF on two outsiders will be far bigger than one on the two market leaders, and it follows the starting prices, not the morning prices. If you need a refresher on reading those prices, see how betting odds work.

Because the CSF is calculated on the field that actually ran, a late withdrawal is already reflected in it. Fixed-price win bets in the same race are the ones affected by Rule 4 deductions.

Worked examples with hypothetical dividends

The dividends below are invented for illustration. Real ones depend on the race.

Straight forecast. You back Horse A to win and Horse B to finish second, £2 straight forecast. They finish in that order and the declared CSF is £18.40 (hypothetical) to a £1 stake. Your return is £18.40 × 2 = £36.80, a profit of £34.80 on a £2 stake.

Reverse forecast. Same two horses, £1 reverse forecast, total stake £2. They finish A then B. Only the A to B line wins, returning £18.40. The B to A line loses its £1. Profit: £16.40.

Combination forecast. You pick four horses, £1 per line, 12 lines, £12 in total. Two of your four fill the first two places. One line wins and returns £18.40, so the profit is £6.40. If the CSF had been £9.50, you would have collected £9.50 on a £12 outlay and lost money despite being right.

Combination tricast. Four horses, 50p per line, 24 lines, £12 in total. Three of your four finish first, second and third. The declared tricast is £143.60 (hypothetical) to £1, so at 50p you receive £71.80, a profit of £59.80.

Greyhounds. A £2 reverse forecast on traps 1 and 4 costs £4. Trap 4 wins, trap 1 is second, and the forecast dividend is £11.25 (hypothetical). You receive £22.50 for a profit of £18.50.

Where tricasts are available

Forecasts are offered on most horse races and greyhound races. Tricasts are more restricted. In UK and Irish horse racing, bookmakers typically accept tricasts only on handicaps with a minimum number of runners, commonly eight or more. Big-field handicaps such as the Grand National are classic tricast races, and our Grand National betting guide covers that race in detail. Greyhound tricasts are widely available on six-dog races.

These thresholds are bookmaker rules, not racing rules, and they vary between firms. If a race does not qualify, the tricast option is usually missing from the slip. Check your bookmaker's racing rules before the off.

The number of possible outcomes explains why dividends can be large. A ten-runner race has 90 possible forecast results and 720 possible tricast results. A six-dog race has 30 forecasts and 120 tricasts. A sixteen-runner handicap has 3,360 possible tricasts.

Tote Exacta and Trifecta: the pool versions

The Tote's pool equivalents are the Exacta (first two in order) and the Trifecta (first three in order). US and Australian pari-mutuel pools use the same names, and the Superfecta extends the idea to the first four.

Every stake goes into a single pool for that bet type, the operator takes a percentage, and the rest is shared among the winning tickets. The dividend depends on how much other people staked on the winning combination, not on a formula built from starting prices. A heavily backed result can pay poorly and an unpopular one can pay well. Neither the CSF nor the pool dividend is reliably bigger, and you cannot know either until the result is official.

Combination and banker versions use the same line counts as above. Pool operators publish their own rules on minimum stakes, non-runners and dead heats, so read those rather than assuming a pool bet behaves like a bookmaker forecast.

Non-runners and dead heats

Non-runner rules for forecasts and tricasts are not standard across the industry. Common approaches include:

• A straight forecast where one selection is withdrawn becoming a win single on the remaining runner, usually at SP.
• A combination bet having the lines that contain the non-runner made void, with the remaining lines standing and the stake on void lines refunded.
• A tricast with one non-runner being converted to a forecast, or voided, depending on the bookmaker.
• Pool bets generally refunding or reallocating lines that include a non-runner under the operator's own rules.

If every selection in the bet is withdrawn, the bet is void and the stake is returned. For anything in between, the bookmaker's racing rules are the only reliable answer.

Dead heats follow the usual principle of dividing the stake. If two runners dead-heat for second, a forecast naming either of them in second can be a partial winner, and a separate dividend may be declared for each combination. A dead heat for third in a tricast works the same way. Your stake is split and each part is paid at its own dividend, so the return is usually lower than a clean result. Settlement details differ between operators, so check the rules.

Why these are high-margin markets

Forecasts and tricasts do produce big payouts, but they carry a bigger built-in margin than a straight win bet. In a ten-runner race the win market has ten outcomes; the forecast market has 90 and the tricast market 720, and the dividends are set by formula rather than by firms competing on each line. Pool versions take their percentage off the top before anything is paid out. These bets suit small stakes on races you have a strong view about, not regular large outlays. A few habits help:

• Keep combination sizes modest. Going from four to five tricast selections more than doubles the cost (24 to 60 lines).
• Use a banker when you genuinely rate one runner above the rest, rather than a full combination.
• Treat the stake as entertainment money within a fixed budget. Our bankroll management guide explains how to size it.

Covering several races instead of several runners in one race is a different structure, explained in our guide to full cover bets. Football bets that sound similar, such as the scorecast and wincast, combine a goalscorer with a correct score or match result and have nothing to do with finishing orders.

Before you place a forecast or tricast

Run through this short check each time:

• Confirm the bet type and the order on the slip: straight, reverse, combination or banker.
• Count the lines and read the total stake, not just the unit stake.
• Check whether the race qualifies for tricasts at your bookmaker.
• Note whether you are taking a fixed price or the CSF or tricast dividend.
• Read the non-runner and dead heat rules if the field looks likely to change.
• Ask whether a realistic dividend would beat your total outlay if your runners fill the places.

Racing and greyhound betting is legal in some countries and states and restricted or banned in others. In India, a national ban on online money games, including online betting, has applied since 1 May 2026. Check the law where you live and use licensed operators only. Greyhound meetings run throughout the day, which makes repeat betting easy, so set a limit before the first race. Our responsible gambling page lists limit tools and support services.