Horse Racing Bet Types

Types of Horse Racing Bets

There are numerous types of horse racing bets – let’s take a look at the most popular.

Win

The most familiar horse racing wager: simply pick one horse to win the race. 

Each Way

In horse racing, each way bets consist of two separate wagers on the same horse: one for that horse to win, and another for the same horse to place. Each way bets therefore pay out to bettors whose selection has finished in one of the top positions in the race, but the payout will be larger if the horse has won. 

The bookmaker will specify where your horse needs to finish in order to qualify for an each way payout, but it’s typically in the top three places. Since you’re not picking an outright winner, each way odds will be smaller than to win bets, but these wagers are really useful for those just getting to grips with horse racing betting – or those who are unsure about the favourite of any given race. 

Double

Double bets are those made up of two individual selections – both selections must be correct for the overall bet to win. 

Treble

Taking things one step further are treble bets, where punters create bet slips with three individual selections. Again, all must be correct in order to win. 

Four-Fold

Similarly, four-fold bets are those consisting of four individual selections. These could be applied to the same race or to multiple events, but must all be correct to receive a payout. 

Accumulator

Accumulators, or accas for short, are bets with multiple selections rolled into the same bet slip. They’re identical to the doubles, trebles and four-folds discussed above, just with more component parts. Some bookies accept accas with up to 15 legs. 

Trixie

Trixie bets are a little more complicated. These wagers are comprised of four parts: three doubles and one treble, all within the same bet slip. The treble, however, is merely a wager that covers the outcomes of all three doubles coming through, which means that if the three doubles win, so too will the treble, generating potentially handsome winnings. Here’s an abstract example:

Yankee

Types of horse bets get a little crazier with yankee wagers, which consist of 11 separate selections of equal stake: six doubles, four trebles and one four-fold. Yankee bets are useful when there are clear favourites in multiple events, generating larger returns than individual bets on winners. 

Lucky 15

Lucky 15s expand the bet slip to 15 selections: four singles, six doubles, four trebles and one four-fold. These selections must be of equal stake and spread across four events.

Lucky 31

The 31 selections involved in a Lucky 31 wager are five singles, ten doubles, ten trebles, five four-folds and one five-fold. It’s an incredibly difficult bet to pull off, but you can still win some decent returns without all of your selections coming through. 

Lucky 63

If you hadn’t worked it out yet, betting on horse racing is unlike any other sport. Lucky 63 bets take things even further: six singles, 15 doubles, 20 trebles, 15 four-folds, six five-folds and one six-fold. A lucky 63 is similar to a Heinz bet, which is comprised of 57 similar selections. 

Forecast

Forecast wagers are those that select the horses to finish first and second in the same race in the correct order. Bettors can also opt for a reverse forecast bet, which allows either horse to finish first or second. 

Tricast

Tricast bets invite punters to make their call on which horses will finish first, second and third in the correct order.

Betting for Beginners

The many different types of horse racing bets can make things a little hard to wrap your head around, so let’s explain the basics of how betting on horses works. 

When you place a single bet, you’re making a prediction on one outcome in total; for example, one particular horse to win the race. The many other types of horse bets are designed to make things more interesting, and to generate greater potential returns on successful wagers. A double bet, therefore, is a bet on two outcomes in total; for example, one horse to win one race, and another horse to win another race. Naturally, the odds on the double bet will be longer, because it’s less likely that both horses will win compared to just one. 

Another important thing to note in horse racing betting is that bookmakers often offer an ongoing promotion known as best odds guaranteed. When this promotion is in place, it means your stake will always be given the most favourable odds, regardless of the price at the time you placed the bet. Let’s say that you selected a horse to win at 6/1, but by the time the race started, the odds are lengthened to 8/1 – your payout would be at 8/1 if your selection were to win. 

Fractional Betting

Fractional betting is what UK bookmakers use as a default. The simplest way of calculating returns with fractional odds is to remember that you need to bet the number to the right of the fraction in order to win the number on the left. Here’s a couple of examples:

• A £1 stake at odds of 5/1 would win £5 in profit, plus your £1 stake
• A £5 stake at odds of 25/1 would win £125 in profit, plus your stake

Decimal Betting

If it’s easier, you can opt for your bookie to present horse racing odds in a decimal format. In this format, the odds presented are the winnings you’d receive based on a £1 wager. Here are some examples:

• A £1 stake at odds of 6.5 would win £6.50 in profit, plus your stake
• A £5 stake at odds of 13.5 would win £67.50, plus your stake

Payment Options for Horse Racing Betting

The best horse racing betting sites will offer customers many different ways to fund and withdraw money from their accounts. Here are the most popular payment options at UK bookmakers. 

Debit Cards

Available at every single online bookmaker, debit cards are comfortably the most popular of all payment methods. We’re all familiar with how they work which is one of their major selling points – together with the fact that there’s no need to create any new payment account. Deposits made with debit cards will always qualify users for betting site bonuses, but withdrawal speeds are among the slowest of all payment options. 

e-Wallets

e-Wallets function as a sort of online-only bank account, where account holders can spend and send money to other users. PayPal, Skrill and Neteller are the three biggest e-wallets when it comes to online gambling and you’ll find at least one of these options at the majority of betting sites. Users don’t need to enter any bank details when making a payment with an e-wallet, which boosts already water-tight security measures. Withdrawals are also the fastest of all payment methods, but e-wallet deposits are often excluded from picking up betting bonuses. 

Paysafecard

Paysafecard is a prepaid card, where users purchase credit on a voucher-based system before uploading it to their betting accounts. Vouchers can be bought either online or in a number of designated retail outlets such as petrol stations and corner shops. Spending limits are heavily restricted, but many users view this as a benefit of the service due to its inherent money management perks. The one major downside is that most betting sites don’t support Paysafecard withdrawals. 

Trustly

Acting as an intermediary link between two bank accounts, Trustly is a service subscribed to by most major banks. Again, there’s no need to share bank information, since this is done automatically on the Open Banking network. Withdrawal speeds tend to be pretty quick, but you’ll need to check whether bonuses can be unlocked through Trustly deposits.

Cheltenham Festival Betting

The Cheltenham Festival is one of the biggest events in the global horse racing calendar, taking place every year in March. It is the jewel in the crown of the National Hunt division – a category of racing that involves horses jumping over fences and ditches, as opposed to flat races with no obstacles. 

The Cheltenham Festival takes place over four days with 28 individual races, providing plenty of opportunities to explore the many different types of horse racing bets. Some of the Festival’s showpiece events are the Cheltenham Gold Cup, the Champion Hurdle, the Stayers’ Hurdle, and the Queen Mother Champion Chase.

Responsible Gambling

Betting on horses has been a pastime enjoyed by many for centuries, but as a form of gambling, it comes with inherent risks. Gambling is an activity with clear risk and reward outcomes, meaning the act itself can become incredibly addictive due to dopamine releases in the brain. It’s therefore vital that you take steps to protect yourself from gambling’s harms. 

Set Budgets

Set yourself a budget and stick to it. All online bookmakers now include tools that help bettors set up spending limits on their accounts, restricting wagers that go beyond the limit. 

Self-Exclusion

Licensed bookmakers also provide access to self-exclusion tools which can be used to lock bettors out of their accounts for days, weeks, months or even years at a time. 

Don’t Use Gambling as a Way to Make Money

Gambling should only ever be viewed as an enjoyable hobby, not a means through which to make money. There are never any guarantees in gambling and the more you gamble, the less likely you are to make a profit. 

Responsible Gambling Organisations

If you or someone you know is struggling with gambling, please contact one of the following organisations:

• GamCare — an independent charity raising awareness of problem gambling and providing treatment services;
• BeGambleAware.org — a comprehensive online resource with information on gambling’s harms and where you can seek help;
• Gamblers Anonymous — a similar service to Alcoholics Anonymous, where problem gamblers share their experiences and help each other overcome their issues.

Frequently Asked Questions