Pentafecta / Super Hi-5 Bet: How It Works, Cost and Payouts

On this page 26 sections

1. What does a Pentafecta / Super Hi-5 require?
2. Why the bet gets expensive so quickly
3. Straight, box and part-wheel tickets
4. Straight Super Hi-5
5. Five-horse box
6. Key or part-wheel
7. How the Super Hi-5 betting pool works
8. Minimum wagers are track-specific
9. How payouts are determined
10. Carryovers and jackpot versions
11. Pentafecta vs. Superfecta
12. A better way to build a Super Hi-5 ticket
13. 1. Decide where you have conviction
14. 2. Calculate the total combinations
15. 3. Compare ticket cost with the pool
16. 4. Do not confuse coverage with an edge
17. 5. Set the maximum ticket cost first
18. Worked ticket-cost examples
19. Straight
20. Five-horse box
21. Six-horse box
22. Can you bet a Super Hi-5 online?
23. Super Hi-5 checklist
24. Primary sources
25. Why One Key Can Change the Cost Dramatically
26. A historical payout example

A Pentafecta, commonly marketed as a Super Hi-5 or Super High Five, requires the bettor to select the first five finishers of one race in the required order. It adds one finishing position to a Superfecta, which stops at the first four.

The concept is simple. The ticket construction is not. Once more than five horses are used, the number of combinations can rise very quickly, so the first thing a bettor should calculate is the true ticket cost.

There is no universal 10-cent or $2 minimum for this wager. Track rules differ. For example, Keeneland’s current wagering menu lists a $1 Super High Five, while other tracks and historical programs have used different minimums. Always check the current race program or bet slip.

What does a Pentafecta / Super Hi-5 require?

A straight Super Hi-5 ticket names five horses in exact finishing order:

1st – 2nd – 3rd – 4th – 5th

For example:

4 – 7 – 2 – 9 – 1

wins only if horse 4 finishes first, 7 second, 2 third, 9 fourth and 1 fifth, subject to the track’s official rules.

Getting the right five horses but putting two of them in the wrong positions does not win a standard straight Super Hi-5.

Why the bet gets expensive so quickly

If every horse were treated as equally likely, the number of possible five-horse finishing orders in a field of n runners is:

n × (n−1) × (n−2) × (n−3) × (n−4)

A 10-horse field therefore has:

10 × 9 × 8 × 7 × 6 = 30,240

possible first-through-fifth orders.

That does not mean a handicapper must buy 30,240 tickets. It shows why adding horses indiscriminately can turn an inexpensive-looking exotic into a very large ticket.

Straight, box and part-wheel tickets

Straight Super Hi-5

A straight ticket uses one horse in each finishing position.

Example at a $1 base:

4 / 7 / 2 / 9 / 1 = 1 combination = $1

This is the cheapest structure, but it requires the exact order.

Five-horse box

A five-horse box covers every possible order of those five horses.

For five different horses:

5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 120 combinations

At a $1 minimum, that is a $120 ticket. Keeneland’s published program has used exactly that example for its $1 Super High Five box.

A sixth horse changes the cost dramatically:

6 × 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 = 720 combinations

At $1 per combination, the box would cost $720.

That is why “just add one more horse” is not a small decision in five-position exotics.

Key or part-wheel

A part-wheel reduces cost by fixing one or more opinions and spreading only where uncertainty is greatest.

Suppose horse 4 is your strongest win selection, while 2, 5, 7 and 9 are candidates underneath. A ticket might look conceptually like:

4 / 2,5,7 / 2,5,7,9 / 2,5,7,9 / 2,5,7,9

The exact number of combinations depends on the selections allowed in each slot and on duplicates being impossible within one finishing order. The betting terminal or ADW should show the total before confirmation; check it rather than estimating from memory.

How the Super Hi-5 betting pool works

When the wager is pari-mutuel, Super Hi-5 money is held in its own pool. After the applicable takeout and adjustments, the distributable pool is paid according to the track’s rules and the number of winning units.

That corrects two common misunderstandings:

• Online wagers do not automatically prove that every racebook is commingled into the host track’s pool.
• Winners do not simply “share equally by person.” A bettor holding more winning units can receive proportionally more than someone holding one unit.

If you bet through an intermediary, determine whether the service pays the official host dividend, commingles into the host pool, maintains a separate pool or settles the race under fixed-odds/bookmaker rules.

Minimum wagers are track-specific

The old idea that “most tracks use a 10-cent minimum and calculate payouts on $2” is not safe.

Current and historical examples show why:

• Keeneland’s current wagering page lists its Toyota Super High 5 at $1 and a 22% takeout.
• A Kentucky Downs announcement in 2023 described a 50-cent Super Hi-5.

Those examples demonstrate variation; they do not create a universal rule for either track forever. Check today’s program.

How payouts are determined

The final payoff depends on several things:

• money in the pool;
• takeout or other permitted deductions;
• number of winning units;
• whether the wager has a carryover or jackpot rule;
• scratches, refunds and dead-heat treatment; and
• the specific track’s settlement rules.

A winning combination containing longshots can produce a large dividend because fewer units may cover the correct order, but a large potential payout is not the same thing as positive expected value.

Carryovers and jackpot versions

Some Super Hi-5 products carry money forward when no ticket has the required winning combination. Others have jackpot-style rules, consolation provisions or mandatory-distribution dates.

Do not assume the rule from one track applies at another.

Before betting a carryover, answer four questions:

1. What happens if nobody has all five in order?
2. What percentage, if any, is paid to consolation winners?
3. What amount carries forward?
4. Is there a scheduled mandatory payout?

A carryover can make the pool larger, but it does not make every ticket a good bet. New money enters the pool too, and the quality of the wager still depends on price, probability, takeout and ticket construction.

For more on force-outs, see our guide to mandatory payouts in horse racing.

Pentafecta vs. Superfecta

The extra finishing position is not a minor addition. In the same 10-horse field, there are 5,040 possible exact first-through-fourth orders but 30,240 possible exact first-through-fifth orders.

If you are still learning four-position tickets, review our beginner’s guide to the Superfecta before adding the fifth position.

A better way to build a Super Hi-5 ticket

Start with the handicapping opinion, not the desire to cover everything.

1. Decide where you have conviction

Maybe you have one horse you strongly prefer to win, but several that can fill the underneath positions. That naturally points toward a key/part-wheel rather than a full box.

2. Calculate the total combinations

Do this before submitting. A five-position exotic can multiply faster than expected.

3. Compare ticket cost with the pool

A $120 or $300 ticket should not be justified solely by the fact that last week’s payoff was large. The current field, likely public combinations and pool size matter.

4. Do not confuse coverage with an edge

Buying more combinations raises the chance that your ticket contains the winning order, but it also raises the amount at risk. Coverage alone does not turn a negative-expectation wager into a positive one.

5. Set the maximum ticket cost first

If the combination structure exceeds the planned amount, cut combinations. Do not keep expanding the budget because the ticket “almost” covers the race.

Worked ticket-cost examples

Assume a $1 minimum for illustration only.

Straight

1 with 2 with 3 with 4 with 5

1 combination × $1 = $1

Five-horse box

1,2,3,4,5 boxed

120 combinations × $1 = $120

Six-horse box

1,2,3,4,5,6 boxed

720 combinations × $1 = $720

These numbers explain why a part-wheel often makes more sense than mechanically adding every contender to every finishing position.

Can you bet a Super Hi-5 online?

Often yes, when an eligible ADW or racebook offers the host track’s wager. But availability is not universal.

Before placing it online, verify:

• the track and race actually offer Super Hi-5;
• the minimum unit shown on the bet slip;
• whether the wager is commingled into the host pool;
• the carryover/jackpot rules;
• the provider’s geographic eligibility; and
• the total ticket cost.

EZHorseBetting’s online racebook hub can help with general account research, but a review page is not proof that a specific Super Hi-5 pool is available today.

Super Hi-5 checklist

• Pick five finishers in exact order unless using an approved box/part-wheel structure.
• Check the current minimum; do not assume 10 cents, 50 cents, $1 or $2.
• Count combinations before submitting.
• Confirm pool type and settlement method.
• Read the current carryover/jackpot rules.
• Treat a large possible payout as a possibility, not an expectation.
• Keep the ticket inside the pre-set race budget.

Primary sources

• Keeneland wagering menu and current minimums
• Keeneland program example — Super High Five straight and box costs
• Kentucky Downs historical Super Hi-5 example showing a different minimum

Minimums, takeout and payout rules can change by track and meet. Check the current program before betting.

Why One Key Can Change the Cost Dramatically

In a six-horse field, boxing all six for the first five finishing positions creates 6 × 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 = 720 orders. If a 10-cent base were permitted, that hypothetical ticket would cost $72. Keying A to win and arranging the other five in the next four spots creates 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 = 120 orders, or $12 at the same hypothetical base.

The cheaper key has a narrower path to a return: A must win. Calculate both the cost and the assumption you are making before accepting the ticket. Actual minimums, field sizes and settlement rules vary, so use the host track’s current program rather than this illustration as the bet slip.

The part-wheel 4 / 2,5,7 / 2,5,7,9 / 2,5,7,9 / 2,5,7,9 has 1 × 3 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 18 valid orders. At a permitted $1 base, it costs $18. Multiplying the displayed group sizes without excluding repeated horses would incorrectly count 192. The key must win, and horse 9 is excluded from second place in this particular structure.

A historical payout example

Our 2021 Kentucky Derby Super High Five example provides a dated case for checking finishing order, ticket structure and payout units. Use the result to understand the calculation; it cannot establish the likely dividend or value of a future Super Hi-5 ticket.

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