One of my favorite wagers is what is called a "reverse pyramid." I credit my friend for sharing this with me, although it's not his original idea, we've developed it into a nifty way to play the races.
The majority of handicappers build their wagers in a pyramid or triangular fashion:
The problem with this is that the majority of players are doing it! That's why, when a well-backed horse wins the race, most payoffs are somewhat low.
If you flip the logic around, you can open up a whirlwind of options...
Let's say you find a longshot you like. Well, he's a longshot, and he's more likely to run second than he is to win and is more likely to run third than he is second. At the same time, you've narrowed down the race to four horses - your longshot and three others.
At this point, take the pyramid, and flip it upside down with a few adjustments:
For just $12, you are covering a nice trifecta. The top three horses (2-3-4) are likely to have a shorter priced horse but a few mid-rangers as well. The center group has those three plus a couple of other nice prices. And finally, you're longshot in third.
You can then rotate the 1 into second, drop the second group down and you another great trifecta wager. For just $24, you have two very live trifecta wagers. Finally, I would take $6 and bet the 1 to win, just in case he runs awesome.
For $30, that's not too shabby of coverage.
The winning possibilities are exciting... say the 4 horse is 8-1 and he wins, but by sheer logic, one of your mid-priced horses is 8-1, and your longshot is 20-1... if it comes in 8-1 / 8-1 / 20-1, that's a huge payday.
I play this way 80% of the time. Finding live longshots to hit the board isn't nearly as difficult as finding live longshots to win.
Furthermore, as you do this, you begin to realize how some horses are "second tier" horses only, or how some horses are likely winners, and they belong in the top group.
It can get expensive, but if you can handicap/narrow down well, it's affordable.
You could go 4 x 10 x 1 for just $36... or 6 x 6 x 1 for $30 etc.
My friend will often use longshot early speed horses who might get an easy early lead, but wilt late to second or third, as his reverse pyramid horse. I, however, use more suck-up second and third place horses. Either way works.
Anyway, sorry to be long winded, but I really like this style of wagering.