Each-way betting explained
An each-way bet is two separate bets of equal size: one on the selection to win, one on it to place. Ask for £5 each-way and you are staking £10. This catches people out more than any other part of a betting slip.
The win half settles as you would expect. The place half pays if the horse finishes inside the places, at a fraction of the odds.
Standard place terms
How many places pay, and at what fraction, depends on the size of the field and whether the race is a handicap. These are the usual terms, though bookmakers extend them for big races as a promotion, so check before betting.
| Field | Race | Places paid | Fraction of odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2–4 runners | Any | Win only | — |
| 5–7 runners | Any | 2 | 1/4 |
| 8+ runners | Non-handicap | 3 | 1/5 |
| 12–15 runners | Handicap | 3 | 1/4 |
| 16+ runners | Handicap | 4 | 1/4 |
A worked example
Take £5 each-way at 10/1 in a ten-runner non-handicap, so three places at a fifth of the odds. Total stake £10.
| Result | Win part | Place part | Returned | Profit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wins | £55 | £15 | £70 | +£60 |
| 2nd or 3rd | — | £15 | £15 | +£5 |
| Unplaced | — | — | — | −£10 |
A fifth of 10/1 is 2/1, so the place part returns £10 of winnings plus the £5 stake. Notice how thin the middle row is: the horse ran well enough to place and the bet made £5.
Where the maths turns against you
That thin middle row is not an accident. At a fifth of the odds, the place part only covers both stakes if the price is 5/1 or bigger. At a quarter of the odds, the break-even point is 4/1. Below those prices a placed horse is a losing bet, even though it feels like a result.
This is why each-way is associated with longer-priced runners in big fields, and why backing an odds-on favourite each-way makes little sense. The place half is close to guaranteed to lose money at those prices.
Other terms from the betting slip — accumulators, ante-post, SP — are in the glossary.