Understanding Betting
Many people are put off horse racing because they don’t understand how betting works, when really it couldn’t be simpler.
Having a little flutter on the horses is fun and it doesn’t have to be complicated. Here we explore some of the basics to help you understand betting:
Stake
When placing a bet, your stake is the amount of money you are willing to gamble - be it a cautious £2 or a rather more flamboyant £500. Generally the minimum stake you can place at a racecourse is £2.
Odds
If you're a winner, your winnings (also known as 'returns') are calculated according to your horse's odds.
In the world of betting, the odds (often referred to as the ‘price’) are a way of expressing the probability of a horse winning a race.
OK - so that's all relatively easy. Here's the more difficult bit. Prices can be:
- odds against
- even money, or
- odds on
Odds against (e.g 2/1, 7/1, 15/2, 50/1 etc)
If your horse’s perceived chance of winning the race is less than 50/50 it is described as odds against. In this case if your horse wins you will receive your stake back plus your stake multiplied by the odds against it.
For example: Your horse wins at 2/1 (pronounced two-to-one).
If your stake was £10 you will receive:
- your £10 back
- plus your stake multiplied by the odds of 2/1 = (£10 x 2) = £20
- That makes £30 in total
Sometimes the numbers may appear more complicated e.g. 15/2 or 9/4. This is simply because odds are normally expressed as fractions so can’t include half numbers. So,for ease of working out how much your bet would return, think of ‘15/2’ as being the same as ‘7.5/1’ etc.
Even money (or Evens)
If your horse’s perceived chance of winning the race is 50/50 it is described as evens. In this case if your horse wins you will receive your stake back doubled.
For example: Your horse wins at 1/1 (pronounced ‘evens’).
If your stake was £10 you will receive:
- your £10 back
- plus your stake multiplied by the odds of 1/1 = (£10 x 1) = £10 again
- That makes £20 in total
Odds on (e.g 1/2, 4/7, 3/10 etc)
If your horse’s perceived chance of winning the race is more than 50/50 it is described as odds on. In this case if your horse wins you will receive your stake back plus your stake multiplied by the odds on it. For example: Your horse wins at 1/2 (pronounced "one-to-two" or "two-to-one on").
If your stake was £10 you will receive:
- your £10 back
- plus your stake multiplied by the odds of 1/2 = (£10 x ½) = £5
- That makes £15 in total
The word 'on' indicates that the odds are reversed.
Long Odds or Short Odds?
Sometimes, instead of a horse's odds being expressed as a fraction, you might hear that they are simply 'long' or 'short'. This isn't meant to refer to the horse itself - or even the jockey.
Instead, odds that are said to be long (e.g. 50/1) point to the fact that a horse is very unlikely to win the race. Conversely, short odds (e.g. 2/1) indicate that a horse has a good chance of winning.
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