GOLDENMALL UK HORSE RACING GUIDE TO TYPES OF BET
On this page we go through all the different types of Bets available in UK Horse Racing and other Sports Betting.
Win Only
Wagers in which the stake is placed on the horse to win - if it doesn't you lose
For example: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 each way on Horse A at 8/1 in a 16 runner handicap
If A finishes 2nd, 3rd or 4th:
If A finshes unplaced both bets are lost.
Click here to go to the Horse Racing Odds Ready Reckoner Page
E.g. £1 win double at 8/1 & 4/1 when both win = £1 x 8/1 = £9 x 4/1 = £45
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.
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. 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 Trixie
A Trixie consists of 4 bets involving 3 selections in different events, i.e. 3 doubles plus one treble. Patent
A Patent consists of 7 bets involving 3 selections in different events, i.e. a single on each selection plus 3 doubles and a treble. Yankee
A Yankee consists of 11 bets involving 4 selections in different events, i.e. 6 doubles, 4 trebles and one four-fold. Lucky 15
A Lucky 15 consists of 15 bets involving 4 selections in different events, i.e. 4 singles, 6 doubles, 4 trebles, and 1 five-fold bet Super Yankee
A Super Yankee consists of 26 bets involving 5 selections in different events, i.e. 10 doubles, 10 trebles, 5 four-fold, one five-fold. Heinz
A Heinz consists of 57 bets involving 6 selections in different events, i.e. 15 doubles, 20 trebles, 15 four-folds, 6 five-folds, and one six-fold. Goliath
A Goliath consists of 247 bets involving 8 selections in different events, i.e. 28 doubles, 56 trebles, 70 four-folds, 56 five-folds, 28 six-folds, 8 seven-folds, and one eight-fold. The obvious conclusion is that the more horses you choose the more different ways there are of combining them.
Extreme caution is advised - bookmakers promote these bets heavily as they are very profitable for them. Why? Because so many lose.
The Tote also offers a couple of specialist bets which are of interest because they pay big dividends to small initial stakes.
Tote Jackpot
Select the winners of the six races at the daily nominated jackpot meeting. A dividend is declared at the end of the racing and payouts can be huge. Tote Placepot
Select a placed horse in the first six races at any of the days racemeetings. A dividend is declared at the end of the racing. Tote Quadpot
Select a placed horse in the last 4 placepot races at any of the days racemeetings. Dividends are usually smaller than the placepot, but not always. The advantage of betting months before an event is that you are likely to get a better price than what it will start on the day.
The major disavantage is that should your horse not take part, your money is lost. The amount deducted is based on a fixed scale which is dependent on the price of a horse in the market at the time of withdrawal.The amount of deductions range from 75p in the £ deducted for odds of 3/10 or shorter,
to 5p in the £ for horses with odds of 14/1. Above 14/1 the liability would be unchanged. In the case of 2 or more horses being withdrawn, the total deductions shall not exeed 75p in the £.
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 Tote
The Tote is a method of wagering in which the odds agaist you are not fixed. This is known as pool betting and in the UK is largely run by an organisation called The Tote.
In pool betting the amount paid out is dependent on two factors, how many people have bet and how many have picked the winner. All the money is paid into the pool,
a duduction is made of 10% by the organiser and the remainder is divided between the winners.
Ante Post Bets
One other type of bet is the ante-post bets (literally before post). For all the major races of the calender, that is the Classics, Grand National, The Championship events at Cheltenham, and major handicaps.
The major bookmakers will lay odds well in advance of the race.
Rule 4 Deductions
These are made when a horse is withdrawn or is unable to compete for any reason without coming to starters orders, but after the bookmakers market had been formed.
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