HAVING A BET

Types of Bets

There are a number of types of bet you can have on a horse.  The simplest types of bets are Single and Each Way bets.

A Single is a straightforward win bet, i.e. if your horse wins you win your stake (the money you gamble) multiplied by the winning odds.

Example:

A £5 win single on a horse at 2/1 would win £15   (i.e. £5 x 2 plus the £5 stake)

An Each Way bet is a two-part bet: The first part is a straightforward win bet and the second is a bet for the horse to get placed (coming 1^st, 2^nd or 3^rd), usually settled at one fifth of the winning odds.

This is how it works:

You horse wins at 5 to 1. You bet £5 each way (2 x £5) on your selection.

Part 1 - £5 at 5 to 1 = £25

Part 2 One fifth of the winning odds (1 to 1 or Evens) multiplied by your stake of £5 would pay you £5

So, your return would be

Part 1 winnings - £25

Part 2 winnings - £5

Plus your original stake of  £10 (2x £5)

TOTAL return – £40

If your horse is placed you are be paid on the second part of the bet, as the first part would only apply if your horse won. Generally (and officially) speaking, a place means 1^st, or 2^nd place in a race with up to 8 runners, up to 3^rd place in races with up to 16 runners and up to 4th in a race of more than 16 runners. Sometimes, bookmakers (as a special offer) may pay out for 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th in races with fewer than 16 runners even though they would not be obliged to do so.

Types of bookmakers

All bookmakers in the UK must be licensed. The most common type of Bookmaker (“bookie”) at the Cheltenham Festival is a pitch bookmaker, situated on the forecourt in front of the Grandstand and Courage/Guinness Enclosures. This area is referred to as the Betting Ring.

Pitch bookmakers are independent and display the odds (“price”) they are willing to offer on horses on their boards. Because of this, the market in the betting ring is competitive and the prices may differ from bookmaker to bookmaker, and it is possible to shop around for the best odds.  The bookmaker may change the odds he offers at any time, and if you win, your bet will be settled at the odds displayed on the bookie’s board at the time of the bet, unless you ask for the bet to be settled at the official SP (starting price).

Step Three –  

The numbers on the bookmakers boards correspond to the odds the he is offering. A bookmakers board may look something like this:

In this case, Honest Ted is offering 5 to 1 (5/1) on Lucky Lad to win. Shady Lady is shown at EV or Even money. Simple really. If your bet wins, you will be paid your winnings plus the money you originally gambled.

How to place a bet with a Pitch Bookmaker

1.   Check the bookmakers boards for any conditions. Some bookmakers will not accept bets below a certain value, or may only offer win bets.

2.   State clearly to the bookmaker the name of the horse, the stake and the type of bet required, i.e. win or each way.

3.  The bookmaker should repeat your selection and record the bet. Listen carefully – any mistakes cannot be rectified once the bet has been recorded.

4.  The bookmaker will issue you with a betting ticket. Keep it in a safe place –    You must produce the ticket to collect any winnings you may be due.

THE TOTE

The Tote (or the Horserace Totalisator Board, to use its full name!) is a computerised system in which all bets are entered into a pool of money which is divided evenly amongst the winning ticket holders. The Tote is similar to the Pari-Mutuel system used in countries where independent bookmakers are not permitted. 

The Tote generally offers a wider range of bet types including the Dual forecast (pick two horses to come 1^st or 2^nd in either order) and the Tricast (pick 3 horses to come 1^st 2^nd or 3^rd in either order).  Prices are calculated to a £1 unit and are displayed as decimal fractions and include the stake, so a price of £2.50 would indicate odds of 1.5 to 1 (or 6/4).  The price displayed at the time of your bet is an indication of how the pool currently stands (and what would be paid out at that time) although all winnings are settled on the final state of the pool which is not calculated until the race has finished.  A rush of support for your horse just before the start of the race would mean that if it won, the pool would have to be divided between more people, and therefore the winning odds would be lower than indicated when you placed your bet a few minutes earlier.

Office Bookmakers 

There are a number of bookmaker companies in the UK and Ireland who operate through a chain of high-street shops. These shops offer the widest selection of bet types on all major sporting events. Punters are able to watch horse and greyhound racing by satellite through a series of monitor screens. Other monitors display betting information and prices. The shops are equipped with seating and refreshment facilities. In UK off-course betting shops, a betting duty of 9 pence in the pound is chargeable which can be paid on the stake at the time of the bet or deducted from any winnings paid.  Betting shops located inside racecourses are usually exempt from betting duty. 

Placing a bet is very easy. Betting slips can be found in various locations in the shop. Staff are always more than happy to offer assistance to those wishing to place a bet. 

Many bookmaking companies offer telephone betting by credit or debit card. Opening an account is very easy and can be done by telephone, where the client will be required to provide their name, address credit/debit card details. Once processed (which can only take 3-4 minutes) the client is issued with a phone number to call and a customer code to identify themselves when placing a bet. The stakes are debited from your card and winnings are refunded back to your card.  The company will usually send a fortnightly or monthly statement to your home address, and in some cases can send them weekly if desired. 

Credit accounts are another form of betting where customers deposit a sum of money into an account which is drawn on when placing bets. The advantage of these accounts are that you can never bet more money than you actually deposit.

AA QUICK TIPS

Never “chase” lost money.  An easy trap to get into is to place a large amount of money on one race to make up for a loss in the previous race. The overwhelming desire to win back your money can cloud your judgement and never works- Take it from me.

Remember that any money won is your money, and not the bookmakers. You may have more money than you came in with and consider that you have nothing to lose but it’s your money now and you do have something to use. You took the risk of gambling it, so it’s yours by right.

Always check your change - Large race meetings often attract counterfeit or forged banknotes. Always check your notes before you leave sight of the bookmaker and in the event of any dispute contact the Betting Ring Inspector (all meetings have one on-site) or the Police on the course.

Betting Odds 

Betting odds are sometimes displayed as by bookmakers as fractions. To work out the price, divide the numerator (the top number) by the denominator (the bottom number). For example odds of 6/4 correspond to 6 divided by 4 which equals 1.5, i.e. One-and-a-half to one.  Below is a conversion of prices you may see displayed:

Price	Winnings (to a £1 stake)
100/1	£100
50/1	£50
25/1	£25
16/1	£16
10/1	£10
8/1	£8
7/1	£7
13/2	£6.50
6/1	£6
11/2	£5.50
5/1	£5
9/2	£4.50
4/1	£4
7/2	£3.50
3/1	£3
11/4	£2.75
5/2	£2.50
9/4	£2.25
2/1	£2
15/8	£1.87
7/4	£1.75
13/8	£1.62
6/4	£1.50
11/8	£1.37
5/4	£1.25
11/10	£1.10
Evens
10/11	£0.91p
4/5	£0.81p
4/6	£0.66p
1/2	£0.50p

 

 

A word about betting odds 

The chart on the previous page shows a number of fractions used to display the odds (or the “price”) or a particular runner.

The prices available at the time when the betting odds are first advertised (or at “first” or “opening” show, as it is known) are normally at first calculated on the theoretical chance the bookmaker feels the individual runners have of winning.  

The bookmaker may arrive at this “opening show” on the basis of personal form studying, information shared between bookmakers and sometimes on the basis of a “whisper” (rumours or confidential information obtained from people closely connected to certain horses or the racing profession). 

Once bets start being taken, bookmakers are influenced by the amount of bets being put on particular horses 

Remember, the Bookmaker is nothing more than a licensed professional gambler, except that he is able to spread his risk by offering bets on all the horses involved. The more bets the he accepts, the greater the risk he is taking. The maximum amount of money a bookie would be required to pay out in a given race, (regardless of the result) is known as his liabilities. The bookie will always keep an eye on how much he has at risk, and if it gets too much, he may cease to accept any further bets. 

Where there is large support for a particular horse or horses, it is common for Bookies to “shorten” a price; i.e. make the odds smaller to discourage further bets. In extreme cases, bookmakers may not accept bets on certain runners.  This is very common when they receive the “magic sign”, i.e. an indication from colleagues that an ordinary punter or a professional/knowledgeable gambler has placed a very large bet (hundreds and sometimes thousands of pounds) on a horse. You may, on odd occasions see bookmakers drawing an imaginary circle around their face with their hand (or fingers) when this happens. Odds can also “drift”, i.e. be made larger on unfancied horses who have attracted little betting support. 

The racing newspapers will give an indication as to what odds they think should be offered on a particular horse. Remember that bookmakers odds can be distorted by certain factors, and are not always an indication of which horse has the best chance of winning – they are an indication of how much money has been bet. Remember: Pick your horse on the basis of form and not the betting odds on offer. It only takes one large bet from someone who is very wealthy (and knows nothing about horseracing) to turn an unfancied horse with very poor form into a short-priced “favourite”.  

This page was updated - Tuesday April 02, 2002 06:52:22 PM  

A GUIDE FOR THE NOVICE PUNTER

AA ALL-WEATHER, a new convertee to racing has written an article aimed at anyone new to racing who, would appreciate advice on what to do at the Festival, go to his article "A Guide for the Novice Punter" 

	Part I - How to pick a winner
	Part II - How to place your bets
	Part III - Glossary of Terms