What Is a Trixie Bet? How a Trixie Works, With Examples

Last updated: 6 November 2026

What is a Trixie bet? It's three horses turned into four bets, three doubles and a treble, so one getting beaten doesn't sink the lot. A £1 Trixie costs £4, and you need at least two winners for a return. At Midnite, it's a horse racing bet.

What Is a Trixie Bet?

A Trixie bet is a full-cover multiple on three selections in different events, made up of four bets: three doubles and one treble. In betting, the Trixie bet meaning is about cost and cover: every bet takes your unit stake, so a £1 Trixie costs £4, and it needs two winners for any return.

With four horses, the same idea becomes a Yankee, and a Yankee plus four singles is the Lucky 15 in our Lucky 15 guide.

The Midnite Take: Trixie Bets: Three Selections, Four Ways to Combine Them

By Dave Learmont, Creative Copy Lead at Midnite

A Trixie sounds like it could be a horse running in the 3:15 at Cheltenham Racecourse. In reality, it's a type of multiple bet.

You pick three selections, and they're combined into four bets: three doubles and one treble.

That means you need at least two selections to win to receive a return. If all three win, all four bets are successful.

Unlike a standard treble, one losing selection doesn't automatically wipe out every possible return.

Just remember, you're placing four separate bets, so a £1 unit stake means £4 in total.

How Does a Trixie Bet Work?

Pick three horses, A, B and C, in different races, and the Trixie covers every combination of two or more:

• Double 1: A and B
• Double 2: A and C
• Double 3: B and C
• Treble: A, B and C

So there are four bets in a Trixie, each settled on its own, and no singles, which is why one winner returns nothing. Our guides to three doubles and how a treble works cover each piece.

That's how a Trixie works as cover. On a straight treble or acca, one loser sinks the whole bet. In a Trixie, a horse caught on the line costs you three of the four bets, and the double between the other two still stands.

The cover isn't free. £4 on a straight treble at 2/1, 3/1 and 4/1 returns £240 if all three win, against £107 from the same £4 as a Trixie. The treble, though, pays nothing the moment one horse is beaten.

Trixie Bet Example: What You Get Back

Take three horses at 2/1, 3/1 and 4/1, with £1 a bet, so £4 in total. In each double, the return from the first horse rolls on as the stake on the second.

• All three win: £107 back on £4.
• A and B win: £12 back.
• A and C win: £15 back.
• B and C win: £20 back.
• One winner or none: nothing back, and the £4 is lost.

On SP bets, the same sums run on the starting prices.

Each-Way Trixie

An each-way Trixie is eight bets: the four win bets, plus the same four on the horses to place, so £1 each-way costs £8. The place part pays at a fraction of the odds on horses that finish in the places, winners included. Our each-way bets guide explains the place terms.

Say all three races pay a quarter of the odds for a place, so the place prices are 1/2, 3/4 and 1/1 (evens).

• All three win: the win part returns £107. The place part returns about £14.38 across its three doubles and treble. Total: about £121.38 back on £8.
• A wins, B finishes second, C is unplaced: the win part returns nothing, with only one winner. The place part pays on the A and B place double only: £1 at 1/2 returns £1.50, then £1.50 at 3/4 returns about £2.63. That's about £2.63 back on £8.

Placed horses keep the bet alive, but when only places land, an each-way Trixie usually returns far less than its stake.

Trixie vs Patent

A Patent is a Trixie plus three singles: seven bets on the same three horses. A Patent bet costs £7 at £1 and pays from one winner, where a Trixie costs £4 and needs two.

Neither is the better bet. The Patent's singles add £3 to the cost and pay from one winner. The Trixie costs less and needs two horses to come in. The Lucky 15 adds singles to four horses the same way, and the Lucky 31 to five.

What Happens If a Horse in Your Trixie Is a Non-Runner?

The bet stands on the other two horses. Midnite's special multiples rules say that if a selection doesn't run, "that leg is removed and the bet is recalculated on the remaining selections."

Every bet that included the non-runner drops a level. If C doesn't run:

• Double 1 (A and B) stays a double.
• Double 2 becomes a single on A.
• Double 3 becomes a single on B.
• The treble becomes a second A and B double.

If A (2/1) and B (3/1) then win at £1 a bet, that's £3 + £4 + £12 + £12 = £31 back on £4.

Under Midnite's racing rules, the stake on a horse that dead-heats is divided by the number of horses in the dead heat and paid at full odds. If A dead-heats for first with one other horse, the A and B double returns £6 instead of £12, and every other line with A in it is halved the same way. Rule 4 deductions can also apply when a runner is withdrawn late.

How to Place a Trixie on Midnite

At Midnite, a Trixie bet in horse racing is the only kind you can place. Each-way Trixies are available, and Midnite's racing rules list no consolation or bonus payout on top.

1 Go to horse racing and pick three horses, each in a different race. 2. Open the bet slip. Trixie shows up with the other multiples once your three horses are in, but it isn't applied for you, so select it. 3. Enter your stake per bet. The slip multiplies it by four, or by eight if you select Each Way. 4. Check the Max Return figure, the most the Trixie can pay, then place the bet.

The steps are the same on the app and the website, and our guide to how to bet on horse racing covers the basics.

Bet Responsibly

Check the total before you place a Trixie: the slip multiplies your stake by four, or eight each-way, and that total is what you're risking. Keep it to money you can afford to lose.

In the Safer Gambling section of your Midnite account you can set deposit limits for a day, a week or a month, a Net Spend Limit on what you pay in after withdrawals, or a Cool Off of 24 hours to 30 days. The Responsible Play hub has every tool, and BeGambleAware offers free, confidential support. 18+.

FAQs

When Might Someone Choose a Trixie?

When they want cover across three horses rather than needing all three to win. Two winners return something, but all three winning pays less than a straight treble for the same total stake, and a Trixie doesn't make any horse more likely to win.

What's the Difference Between a Trixie and a Patent?

A Patent adds three singles, so it costs £7 at £1 a bet and pays from one winner. A Trixie costs £4 and needs two winners. The comparison table above shows both at the same prices.

How Much Is a £1 Trixie Bet?

A £1 Trixie costs £4, because it's four bets at £1 each. A £1 each-way Trixie is eight bets, so it costs £8.

How to Calculate a Trixie Bet?

Work out each of the four bets on its own and add up the ones that win. In a double, the return from the first horse becomes the stake on the second: £1 at 2/1 returns £3, and £3 at 3/1 returns £12. Midnite's bet slip shows the Max Return before you place it.

Three Horses, Four Bets

The Trixie bet explained in one line: three horses, four bets, and two winners for a return. The races are on Midnite's horse racing page, and our horse racing betting terms glossary covers the rest of the jargon.

Midnite is licensed and regulated by the Great Britain Gambling Commission. 18+. Please gamble responsibly.

None of Midnite's current partnerships is in racing. In 2026/27 it's principal partner of Wolves, Middlesbrough and Sheffield United, the training kit partner of Southampton, a World Snooker Tour partner, and the NFL's official sports betting partner in the UK and Ireland.

About the author

Jordan Willmott is Sportsbook Experience Senior Manager at Midnite, where he leads the team behind sportsbook operations and propositions, from bet settlement and price boosts to the range of markets and specials available across every sport on site. He has spent 13 years in sportsbook and trading, previously in similar roles at BetVictor, Sporting Index and Sky Betting & Gaming. He writes here on how markets are built, made available and settled once the whistle goes. Connect with Jordan on LinkedIn.