Betting 101
Horse Racing Betting Odds Explained
To put it in the most simple of terms, horse racing betting odds are the mathematical depiction of how likely each horse is to win a specific race.
As well as giving bettors an idea of how likely each horse is to win or run in a certain position, the odds also give a clear idea of how much they can expect to get back if their choice is successful.
Once you understand the different nuances of horse racing odds you can use them as a reliable guide not only to how much you could win, but how likely your preferred outcome really is according to the industry as a whole.
Odds can vary heavily from track to track, horse to horse and from one moment to the next as the industry reacts weather to news, form and to how much money has been wagered. Before you place your bets, learn what the odds really mean and always make sure you have them up to date!
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What Are Horse Racing Odds?
Horse racing odds are the return you can expect on your investment if your wager is successful, the odds or the payout reflecting to some degree the percentage chance your horse has of winning the race. The lower the chances of success, the bigger the payoff will be.
For horse racing beginners or those fairly new to off-track horse racing wagering, understanding odds is one of the first things you need to know.
Seeing a list of payouts or potential payouts can be confusing, say for example the first time you see odds of 9-2 against a horse or a pari-mutuel payoff of $6.00 you may not be fully able to quantify what that means when in reality, it is really quite simple.
Traditional Odds in Online Horse Betting
When odds are shown in the traditional fractions, i.e. 4-1 or 9-2, it shows the amount of profit there is to be gained versus the stake. So if you bet a horse at 4-1 for $5 and it wins, you will return $25 ($5 x 4 + original stake).
Seeing any other number than a 1 means you can simply divide the amounts, so odds of 9-2 are basically 4½ to 1 then the same sums apply.
This is why ‘odds-on’ horses still give you a profit, so if your horse goes off at 4-5 this is basically 0.8 to 1 which is a negative, but you would still return your stake too. So a winning $50 bet at 4-5 would return a total of $90, giving you a profit of $40.
Pari-mutuel Pool Betting Payoffs
This is the system used in all horse racing, from on-track to online. Pari-mutuel means that all customers are wagering against each other, not the “house”. Unlike sports betting, the odds change as it gets closer to the race. So if you put $2 down on a horse at 5-1, but at post time the odds change to 15-1, that is the payout you are going to get.
The main wager types are win, place and show, which are are divided into different pools. Pools are how much money has been placed on that specific wager type, which means all the money wagered on place has no impact on the payout or odds of show wagers.
Exotic Wagers
Most horseplayers still pick just one horse in a race to win, place (finish in the first 2) or show (finish in the first 3), but others like to play more exotic wagers involving multiple horses in a single field in order to get better odds for their bet.
The Exacta is a bet involving the first two horses in a race; i.e. your nominated two need to finish first and second in the correct order. The Trifecta has the same rules but this time involving three horses and the Superfecta involves picking four.
It goes without saying that these are very difficult to get right but, as a pari-mutuel bet with lots of money in the pool and so few people getting it right, the potential payoffs are huge.
Boxing Your Horse Bets
A box wager means as a player you select the horses you want, 2 in an Exacta, 3 in a Trifecta etc, but cover all the finishing positions. If you placed an ordinary $2 Exacta but wanted to box the bet, you are essentially placing two bets as there are two outcomes so it would cost you $4 in total. Then, as long as your horses finish first and second in any order you will win.
Boxing a Trifecta means selecting three horses but placing six bets in total as the horses finishing first, second and third could happen in six different combinations (123, 132, 213, 231, 312, 321). So, a $1 box Trifecta will cost a total of $6 to wager and so on.
You can add even more selections into your box bets but remember that the more combinations there are, the more the bet will cost over and above your unit stake so keep a check on this before you press go.
Sometimes you may have boxed a bet heavily and the most obvious horses have finished in front, but your payoff may not cover the total amount you wagered.
Calculating Horse Racing Odds
Remember that the chances of a horse winning, and how much money should be paid out if and when it does so, are based on probability.
Unlike in the pari-mutuel system when the payoffs are essentially decided by the players themselves as a whole based on how much money is in the pool and how many bets on each horse are laid, traditional odds really give you a chance to see what sort of percentage chance an online wagering company or the industry as a whole gives to your horse.
For example if your horse is 5-1 that may not make it seem like such a long shot, but you have to add a standard $1 stake to that and divide 100 by that number. So, 100 divided by 6 gives this horse a less than 17% chance of success.
A 17% probability of winning really isn’t bad in horse racing; let’s face it there may be 20 runners in the field and if all were equal each one would only have a 5% chance of success. But it’s important to note that if the odds on your horse suggest it has a 17% chance, it therefore also has an 83% chance of losing so remember to keep your stakes sensible and keep the math on your side.
To help you get value for money in that case, you want to find a way of handicapping your horses and giving them a realistic percentage chance of scoring. If you believe your horse has a 25% chance of winning you may expect it to be at odds of around 3-1, but you can get 7-2 or even 4-1 then you probably feel like you have a more than fair probable return on your wager and that over the course of time you are giving yourself a fair chance of success.
Basic Table of Potential Payoffs
Just to help you along, here’s a basic chart showing how much you will return for a standard $2 win bet based on the various fractional odds displayed:
| Odds | $2 Payoff | Odds | $2 Payoff |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-5 | $2.40 | 4-1 | $10.00 |
| 2-5 | $2.80 | 9-2 | $11.00 |
| 1-2 | $3.00 | 5-1 | $12.00 |
| 3-5 | $3.20 | 6-1 | $14.00 |
| 4-5 | $3.60 | 7-1 | $16.00 |
| 1-1 | $4.00 | 8-1 | $18.00 |
| 6-5 | $4.40 | 9-1 | $20.00 |
| 7-5 | $4.80 | 10-1 | $22.00 |
| 3-2 | $5.00 | 11-1 | $24.00 |
| 8-5 | $5.20 | 12-1 | $26.00 |
| 9-5 | $5.60 | 13-1 | $28.00 |
| 2-1 | $6.00 | 14-1 | $30.00 |
| 5-2 | $7.00 | 15-1 | $32.00 |
| 3-1 | $8.00 | 16-1 | $34.00 |
| 7-2 | $9.00 | 20-1 | $42.00 |
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If you don't win your first single-horse win betTo put it in the most simple of terms, horse racing betting odds are the mathematical depiction of how likely each horse is to win a specific race.
As well as giving bettors an idea of how likely each horse is to win or run in a certain position, the odds also give a clear idea of how much they can expect to get back if their choice is successful.
Once you understand the different nuances of horse racing odds you can use them as a reliable guide not only to how much you could win, but how likely your preferred outcome really is according to the industry as a whole.
Odds can vary heavily from track to track, horse to horse and from one moment to the next as the industry reacts weather to news, form and to how much money has been wagered. Before you place your bets, learn what the odds really mean and always make sure you have them up to date!
The Future of Horse Racing Is Here! TVG Is now FanDuel Racing – Join Us on This Exciting Journey for Bigger Thrills, Better Features, and All the Action You Love!
What Are Horse Racing Odds?
Horse racing odds are the return you can expect on your investment if your wager is successful, the odds or the payout reflecting to some degree the percentage chance your horse has of winning the race. The lower the chances of success, the bigger the payoff will be.
For horse racing beginners or those fairly new to off-track horse racing wagering, understanding odds is one of the first things you need to know.
Seeing a list of payouts or potential payouts can be confusing, say for example the first time you see odds of 9-2 against a horse or a pari-mutuel payoff of $6.00 you may not be fully able to quantify what that means when in reality, it is really quite simple.
Traditional Odds in Online Horse Betting
When odds are shown in the traditional fractions, i.e. 4-1 or 9-2, it shows the amount of profit there is to be gained versus the stake. So if you bet a horse at 4-1 for $5 and it wins, you will return $25 ($5 x 4 + original stake).
Seeing any other number than a 1 means you can simply divide the amounts, so odds of 9-2 are basically 4½ to 1 then the same sums apply.
This is why ‘odds-on’ horses still give you a profit, so if your horse goes off at 4-5 this is basically 0.8 to 1 which is a negative, but you would still return your stake too. So a winning $50 bet at 4-5 would return a total of $90, giving you a profit of $40.
Pari-mutuel Pool Betting Payoffs
This is the system used in all horse racing, from on-track to online. Pari-mutuel means that all customers are wagering against each other, not the “house”. Unlike sports betting, the odds change as it gets closer to the race. So if you put $2 down on a horse at 5-1, but at post time the odds change to 15-1, that is the payout you are going to get.
The main wager types are win, place and show, which are are divided into different pools. Pools are how much money has been placed on that specific wager type, which means all the money wagered on place has no impact on the payout or odds of show wagers.
Exotic Wagers
Most horseplayers still pick just one horse in a race to win, place (finish in the first 2) or show (finish in the first 3), but others like to play more exotic wagers involving multiple horses in a single field in order to get better odds for their bet.
The Exacta is a bet involving the first two horses in a race; i.e. your nominated two need to finish first and second in the correct order. The Trifecta has the same rules but this time involving three horses and the Superfecta involves picking four.
It goes without saying that these are very difficult to get right but, as a pari-mutuel bet with lots of money in the pool and so few people getting it right, the potential payoffs are huge.
Boxing Your Horse Bets
A box wager means as a player you select the horses you want, 2 in an Exacta, 3 in a Trifecta etc, but cover all the finishing positions. If you placed an ordinary $2 Exacta but wanted to box the bet, you are essentially placing two bets as there are two outcomes so it would cost you $4 in total. Then, as long as your horses finish first and second in any order you will win.
Boxing a Trifecta means selecting three horses but placing six bets in total as the horses finishing first, second and third could happen in six different combinations (123, 132, 213, 231, 312, 321). So, a $1 box Trifecta will cost a total of $6 to wager and so on.
You can add even more selections into your box bets but remember that the more combinations there are, the more the bet will cost over and above your unit stake so keep a check on this before you press go.
Sometimes you may have boxed a bet heavily and the most obvious horses have finished in front, but your payoff may not cover the total amount you wagered.
Calculating Horse Racing Odds
Remember that the chances of a horse winning, and how much money should be paid out if and when it does so, are based on probability.
Unlike in the pari-mutuel system when the payoffs are essentially decided by the players themselves as a whole based on how much money is in the pool and how many bets on each horse are laid, traditional odds really give you a chance to see what sort of percentage chance an online wagering company or the industry as a whole gives to your horse.
For example if your horse is 5-1 that may not make it seem like such a long shot, but you have to add a standard $1 stake to that and divide 100 by that number. So, 100 divided by 6 gives this horse a less than 17% chance of success.
A 17% probability of winning really isn’t bad in horse racing; let’s face it there may be 20 runners in the field and if all were equal each one would only have a 5% chance of success. But it’s important to note that if the odds on your horse suggest it has a 17% chance, it therefore also has an 83% chance of losing so remember to keep your stakes sensible and keep the math on your side.
To help you get value for money in that case, you want to find a way of handicapping your horses and giving them a realistic percentage chance of scoring. If you believe your horse has a 25% chance of winning you may expect it to be at odds of around 3-1, but you can get 7-2 or even 4-1 then you probably feel like you have a more than fair probable return on your wager and that over the course of time you are giving yourself a fair chance of success.
Basic Table of Potential Payoffs
Just to help you along, here’s a basic chart showing how much you will return for a standard $2 win bet based on the various fractional odds displayed:
| Odds | $2 Payoff | Odds | $2 Payoff |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-5 | $2.40 | 4-1 | $10.00 |
| 2-5 | $2.80 | 9-2 | $11.00 |
| 1-2 | $3.00 | 5-1 | $12.00 |
| 3-5 | $3.20 | 6-1 | $14.00 |
| 4-5 | $3.60 | 7-1 | $16.00 |
| 1-1 | $4.00 | 8-1 | $18.00 |
| 6-5 | $4.40 | 9-1 | $20.00 |
| 7-5 | $4.80 | 10-1 | $22.00 |
| 3-2 | $5.00 | 11-1 | $24.00 |
| 8-5 | $5.20 | 12-1 | $26.00 |
| 9-5 | $5.60 | 13-1 | $28.00 |
| 2-1 | $6.00 | 14-1 | $30.00 |
| 5-2 | $7.00 | 15-1 | $32.00 |
| 3-1 | $8.00 | 16-1 | $34.00 |
| 7-2 | $9.00 | 20-1 | $42.00 |
Play the Odds and Win at TVG
Are you ready to shift the odds in your favor? Then sign up at TVG and receive a favorable deposit bonus. If you’re looking to hone your skills first, be sure to check out our horse betting guide.