UK Horse Betting Types
Win Only
Wagers in which the stake is placed on the horse to win - if it doesn't you lose
Each Way
An Each-Way bet is a win and place bet, consisting of 2 stakes: one for the win part and one for the place part. Thus a £1 bet each-way cost £2. The place bet will be paid at a quarter or a fifth of the odds. Each bookmaker will display its own rules for place betting but the following is a rough guide:
| No. of Runners | Race Type | Place Odds | Paid on Places |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-5 | Any | Not Available/ Win only | 1st |
| 6-7 | Any | Quarter | 1st & 2nd |
| 8 or more | Any | Fifth | 1st,2nd & 3rd |
| 12-15 | Handicaps | Quarter | 1st, 2nd & 3rd |
| 16 or more | Handicaps | Quarter | 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th |
For example:
£1 each way on Horse A at 8/1 in a 16 runner handicap
If A wins the win £1 at 8/1 = £9 (including stake), the place £1 x 8/1 @ quarter odds = 2/1 = £3,Total Return = £12
If A finishes 2nd, 3rd or 4th:
The win £1 is lost, the place £1 x 8/1 @ quarter odds = 2/1 = £3, Total £3
If A finshes unplaced both bets are lost.
Win Double
A bet in which 2 selections in different races are backed to make one wager, the total return from the first being invested on the second selection. Both selections must win for it to be a winning bet, if either lose the bet is lost. The attraction is that for modest sums a high return can be expected.
E.g. £1 win double at 8/1 & 4/1 when both win = £1 x 8/1 = £9 x 4/1 = £45
Win Treble
As above but with 3 selections in different races. The risk is that the more selections the more risk of losing.
All the above can be win or each-way
Forecast Betting
These fall into 2 basic types Straight Forecasts and Reverse Forecasts. In both bets the bettor is trying to predict the first and second horses home.
Straight Forecast
You name 2 horses (A and B) and they must finish in that order, i.e. A must beat B.
Reverse Forecast
You name 2 horses (A and B) and they can finish in either order, i.e. A beats B, or B beats A. As this is in fact 2 bets it will cost 2 x the stake. A £10 reverse forecast bet will therefore cost £20. Payouts can be large.
Tricast Forecast
This challenges the punter to name the first 3 horses home in the correct order. Payouts can be enormous.
Combination Tricast
This challenges the punter to name the first 3 horses A, B and C, but in no particular order. This would in fact be 6 bets. because you have to cover all the combinations, so a £10 combination tricast would cost £60. Obviously only one of these bets can win, but the payout is likely to be more than enough to cover the losing bets.
Combination/Specialised Bets
There are another group of bets which are known as combination bets and aredependent on the number of slections made by the punter. These are usually available on specific pre-printed slips from your bookmaker.
The grid outlined below shows the number of bets given in combinations dependent on the number of individual selections.
| SELECTION | SINGLE | DOUBLE | TREBLE | 4 FOLDS | 5 FOLDS | 6 FOLDS | 7 FOLDS | 8 FOLDS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 2 | 2 | 1 | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | X | X | X | X | X |
| 4 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 1 | X | X | X | X |
| 5 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 5 | 1 | X | X | X |
| 6 | 6 | 15 | 20 | 15 | 6 | 1 | X | X |
| 7 | 7 | 21 | 35 | 35 | 21 | 7 | 1 | X |
| 8 | 8 | 28 | 56 | 70 | 56 | 28 | 8 | 1 |