Most Grand National bets are each-way singles — one horse, backed to win or place. But a forecast bet asks a different question entirely: can you name the first two home in the correct order? A tricast goes further — the first three, exact sequence. These are not bets for the cautious. In a 34-runner steeplechase where the average winning price over the past decade is roughly 18.7/1, predicting even the winner is hard enough. Predicting the winner and the runner-up, in order, requires either serious analysis or extraordinary luck. The returns, when it comes off, reflect that difficulty.
Forecast and tricast bets occupy the space between each-way simplicity and speculative ambition. They reward conviction and punish vagueness. Understanding how they work — and when they are worth the risk — separates a punt from a plan.
How Forecast Bets Work
A straight forecast requires you to select the horse that will finish first and the horse that will finish second, in that specific order. Horse A wins, Horse B finishes second. If Horse B wins and Horse A finishes second, the bet loses. The order is not negotiable.
The payout on a straight forecast is determined by a computer forecast dividend rather than fixed odds. You do not see a price quoted before the race. Instead, the dividend is calculated after the result based on the starting prices of the two horses and the overall market structure. As a rough guide, a forecast involving two horses at 10/1 and 16/1 might return several hundred pounds from a £1 stake, but the exact figure is only known once the race finishes.
A reverse forecast removes the order requirement. You select two horses to finish first and second in either order. Because a reverse forecast is effectively two straight forecasts — A first and B second, or B first and A second — the stake doubles. A £1 reverse forecast costs £2. If either combination lands, you collect the relevant straight forecast dividend. This halves your potential return per pound staked but doubles the number of winning outcomes.
For the Grand National, where the finishing order is notoriously difficult to predict, the reverse forecast is the more pragmatic option of the two. You might fancy two horses to be involved at the business end without being confident about which will prevail. The reverse forecast accommodates that uncertainty at the cost of a doubled stake — a familiar tradeoff for anyone who has placed an each-way bet.
How Tricast Bets Work
A tricast extends the forecast logic to three horses. You select the first, second, and third finishers in exact order. The difficulty escalates sharply: you are now predicting three specific outcomes in a field of 34, where fallers, loose horses, and pace collapses can rearrange the finishing order in the final half-mile.
The payout for a successful Grand National tricast is, accordingly, very large. A £1 tricast landing with three horses at prices between 10/1 and 33/1 can return thousands of pounds. The 2023 Grand National, won by 8/1 favourite Corach Rambler ahead of 20/1 shot Vanillier and 10/1 chance Gaillard Du Mesnil, would have produced a handsome tricast dividend for the small number of punters who named all three in the correct order. The average winning price of approximately 18.7/1 makes the Grand National fertile ground for sizeable tricast dividends — precisely because the result is so hard to call.
A combination tricast (sometimes called a full cover tricast) allows you to select three horses to fill the first three places in any order. This costs six times the unit stake — covering all six possible arrangements of three horses across three positions. A £1 combination tricast costs £6. If any arrangement of your three selections fills the podium, you collect the corresponding tricast dividend. The cost is higher but the probability of collecting is six times greater than a straight tricast.
Combination Bets: Expanding the Net
Beyond the reverse forecast and combination tricast, you can name more than two or three horses in a combination forecast or tricast. Selecting four horses in a combination forecast covers twelve possible permutations (each pair, in each order). At £1 per line, that is a £12 outlay. Five horses in a combination tricast covers sixty permutations — a £60 bet at £1 per line.
The maths escalates quickly, and this is where forecast and tricast betting on the Grand National becomes a balance between coverage and cost. With an estimated £250 million wagered on the 2025 Grand National according to the Betting and Gaming Council, the vast majority of that money went on each-way singles. Forecasts and tricasts account for a small fraction of overall turnover — but the punters who use them tend to be more engaged with the form and more willing to take calculated risks for disproportionate rewards.
The practical approach for the Grand National is to keep combination sizes small. A reverse forecast on two fancied horses, or a combination tricast on three that you believe will be in the mix, represents a manageable outlay with a meaningful potential return. Once you start naming five or six horses in combination tricasts, the stake required to cover all permutations starts to rival the kind of money you might have budgeted for your entire Grand National experience.
Are Forecast and Tricast Bets Worth It?
The honest answer is: occasionally, for the right race and the right punter. The Grand National is simultaneously the best and worst event for these bets. Best, because the prices are long enough to generate huge dividends. Worst, because the race is chaotic enough to make precise prediction almost futile.
If you have strong opinions about two or three horses — not just that they will run well, but that they will outperform the rest of the field — a small-stake reverse forecast or combination tricast is a rational way to express that view. The key word is small-stake. A £1 or £2 combination tricast on three horses costs £6 or £12 and could return four figures if it lands. That is asymmetric risk in the truest sense: a modest outlay for an outsized potential reward.
If you do not have strong opinions and are simply looking to have a bet on the Grand National, each-way remains the better vehicle. It is simpler, it covers more outcomes, and it does not require you to predict the exact finishing positions of multiple horses in a race where the order of the first four can change between the last fence and the winning post. Forecasts and tricasts are supplementary bets — interesting additions to your Grand National portfolio, not replacements for the bread-and-butter each-way wager.