This is the kind of slip a horse racing bet calculator is built for: a Saturday Lucky 15, £1 each way at 5/1, 7/2, 9/2 and 3/1, with 1/5 place terms. Your first horse wins, the second runs on into third, the other two finish in the pack. What’s that worth? The horse racing bet calculator above says £13.10 back on your £30. Swap things round so all four place and none win, and it’s £60.07. That’s each way doing its job.
It’s the same free engine as our main bet calculator, just set up for the track: each way on, place terms ready, and Rule 4 and dead heat boxes on every horse.
Using the horse racing bet calculator
Pick the bet. Singles, doubles, trebles and accas sit alongside the full-cover bets racing punters love: Trixie, Patent, Yankee, Lucky 15 and up to a Goliath. Type in each price as it’s shown on the card, set the result for each horse, and choose the place terms the bookie is paying.
Results are Won, Placed, Lost or Void. Void is for non-runners. A placed horse only pays if you’re each way, so that option appears when the box is ticked.
Place terms
The place part of an each way bet pays at a fraction of the win odds. The usual terms by race:
- 5 to 7 runners: 1/4 odds, first 2
- 8 or more runners: 1/5 odds, first 3
- Handicaps with 12 to 15 runners: 1/4 odds, first 3
- Handicaps with 16 or more: 1/4 odds, first 4
Big meetings often pay extra places, so check what your bookie is offering on the day. A horse that finishes fifth in a race paying five places is a placed horse.
Rule 4 and dead heats
When a runner is withdrawn after the market has formed, the remaining horses had a better chance than their prices suggested. Rule 4 claws some of that back as a deduction from your winnings, from 5p in the pound for a long shot coming out up to 90p for a very short favourite. Pick the deduction on the horse it applies to and the calculator takes it off both the win and place parts. Your stake is never touched.
Dead heats are simpler. Two horses tie and your stake is split between them, so £10 at 5/1 is paid as £5 at 5/1. If your each way horse dead heats for the final place, it’s the place part that gets halved.
A quick sense check
Each way doubles your outlay. On short-priced horses the place part can pay back less than it costs. A 6/4 favourite at 1/5 odds places for 1.3, so a placed horse loses you money overall. Each way tends to make more sense from about 5/1 upwards, and best in big fields with generous terms.
For a single horse, the each way calculator is quicker. If you want to back several runners in one race at the same return, try the dutching calculator.
Racing is fun with a fiver on. Set a limit for the day before the first race. BeGambleAware.org is free and confidential if it stops being fun.