What is Dutching Horses?

What is Dutching Horses? A Beginner's Guide to the Betting Strategy

Dutching is a betting strategy used in horse racing where you bet on multiple selections in the same race - with the aim being that no matter which of your selections wins, you make the same profit (or as close as possible) from the desired stake.

What Does "Dutching" Mean in Betting?

Dutching in horse racing is a betting strategy where a punter will combine more than one horse in the same race for betting purposes. Typically, they would split their stake in order to return a similar profit in the instance where any of their selections win the race.

The term "Dutching" originated from the world of illegal gambling in the United States during the 1920s and 1930s, and it’s widely believed to be linked to a man named Arthur Flegenheimer, better known by his nickname, Dutch Schultz, as it is believed that he or his associates developed the betting method that became known as "Dutching."

How Does Dutching in Horse Racing Work?

In horse racing, Dutching is the principle of betting on multiple horses to win the same race, with the aim of returning a similar payout in the scenario where one of them wins. Dutching strategy means the punter would split stakes accordingly, based on the odds, to return a similar profit.

There are a few ways of deciding how to Dutch a couple of horses. You might want to pre-determine how much you want to win (if a selection wins), or how much you want to stake on the race, with the aim of getting a similar return. These are set-profit and set-stake Dutching.

In the simplest and most basic manner for Dutching horses, the key is to ensure your selections carry odds large enough to cover the stake of your losing bet and generate profit.

If you back two horses in the same race, at least one of them is guaranteed to be a loser.

If you back two horses at 7/1 odds and put £20 on each, your outlay becomes £40.

In this instance, either horse winning earns you £140 profit. You keep your £20 stake from the winning bet but lose your £20 stake from the losing bet. So your total return = £140.

Why Would You Bet on More Than One Horse in a Race?

For punters that study the form book in depth, sometimes it can be hard to establish a strong view that one single horse will win a race, particularly in the cases of big field handicaps.

In that scenario, rather than back each-way, a punter could choose to Dutch bet multiple horses, thus doubling the win stake – similar to betting each-way -  but allowing them to have two or more horses running for them. It's a strategy to increase the chances of winning, albeit with lower returns than a single winning bet.

Punters may also choose to utilise a Dutching calculator if attempting equal profit Dutching, or when they are new to backing multiple selections in one race, looking for extra value betting options on betting exchanges.