Each-Way Betting Explained

Each-way betting is probably the most popular bet type in horse racing, and it’s also the most widely misunderstood. Ask ten people at the races how their each-way bet actually works and you’ll get about six different answers.

The basics are straightforward. An each-way bet is two bets: one on the horse to win, and one on the horse to place (finish in the top few). You stake the same amount on each part, so a £5 each-way bet costs £10 total. If the horse wins, both bets pay out. If it finishes in a place position but doesn’t win, only the place part pays. If it finishes out of the places, you lose the lot.

The place part pays at a fraction of the win odds. That fraction, and the number of places paid, depends on the race.

Place terms

This is where it gets important. The standard place terms are:

These are the standard industry terms. Many bookmakers offer enhanced place terms as promotions — extra places, or better fractions. Those promotions can significantly change the value equation, which we’ll come back to.

Working out each-way returns

Say you back a horse at 10/1 each-way, £10 each-way (£20 total stake) in a race with 12 runners.

If it wins: You get £110 (10/1 × £10 = £100, plus your £10 stake back) from the win part, plus £30 (10/1 at 1/5 = 2/1, so 2/1 × £10 = £20, plus your £10 stake) from the place part. Total return: £140 from a £20 outlay.

If it places but doesn’t win: You lose the £10 win stake but get £30 from the place part. Total return: £30 from a £20 outlay. Profit of £10.

If it finishes out of the places: You lose £20.

Now consider the same horse at 3/1. Each-way, £10 each-way (£20 total).

If it wins: £40 from the win part + £16 from the place part (3/1 at 1/5 = 3/5, which pays £6 plus your £10 stake). Total return: £56.

If it places: You lose the £10 win stake and get £16 from the place. Return of £16 from £20 stake. You’ve lost £4 even though the horse placed.

That last point is crucial. On short-priced horses, the place part at 1/5 odds can leave you worse off even when the horse places. This is why each-way betting on favourites is generally poor value.

When each-way offers good value

The sweet spot for each-way betting is horses at bigger prices — roughly 8/1 and above — where the place return is meaningful enough to provide a safety net without the win part being hopelessly unlikely.

But price alone isn’t enough. You need to think about the horse’s realistic chance of placing versus the odds implied by the place fraction.

Here’s an example. A horse is 20/1 in a 16-runner handicap. The place part pays 1/4 odds for finishing in the top four. So the effective place odds are 5/1 (20/1 ÷ 4). That implies the horse needs roughly a 17% chance of finishing in the top four for the place part alone to be value.

If you think the horse has a genuine 10% chance of winning and a 35% chance of placing in the first four, the each-way bet looks appealing. The win part might not be value on its own (10% chance at 20/1 means the fair odds are 9/1), but the place part is strong value (35% chance at effective odds of 5/1, where fair odds would be about 2/1).

This is the core of each-way value: sometimes the place part more than compensates for a win part that’s marginal.

Each-way sniping

This takes the place-value concept to its logical extreme. An each-way snipe is a bet where you don’t really expect the horse to win, but the place terms make the each-way bet profitable purely on the place part.

The classic setup: a big-field handicap at a festival meeting. Bookmakers are offering extra places (say, paying five or six places instead of the standard four) at enhanced fractions. A horse at 25/1 or bigger has a realistic chance of placing but almost no chance of winning.

If the bookmaker is paying six places at 1/4 odds on a 25/1 shot, the effective place odds are 25/4, which is 6.25/1. You only need the horse to place about one in seven times for the place part to break even. In a 24-runner handicap with enhanced places, plenty of horses have better than a one-in-seven chance of finishing in the top six.

The place part carries the whole bet. You’re not expecting the win to come in; you’re banking on the place return being good enough, often enough, to outweigh the combined losses on the win and place stakes when the horse finishes out of the frame.

Finding these opportunities is where the money is in each-way betting. They tend to appear around big meetings like the Cheltenham Festival, Grand National day, Royal Ascot, and Glorious Goodwood, where bookmakers compete aggressively with extra-place offers.

The bookmakers’ edge

It’s worth understanding why bookmakers are happy to offer each-way betting. On the win part, the standard overround (the margin built into the book) applies. On the place part, the overround is calculated separately, and it’s often even bigger.

When a bookmaker takes the win odds and divides by 5 for the place fraction, they’re not offering true place odds. The place market has its own probability distribution, and it doesn’t scale linearly from the win market. A 10/1 shot doesn’t have exactly a 1-in-3 chance of placing just because the win odds suggest a 1-in-11 chance of winning. Some horses at 10/1 are much more likely to place than others.

A horse with consistent form that never quite wins but always runs in the first few is more likely to place at 10/1 than a horse at the same price that either bolts up or runs nowhere. The fixed-fraction system doesn’t distinguish between them, and that’s where each-way value (or lack of it) hides.

The Betfair exchange has a separate win and place market, which gives you true place odds based on actual trading. Comparing those exchange place odds with the implied place odds from a bookmaker’s each-way terms is a useful way to check whether the each-way option is actually offering value.

Tactical use in different race types

Big-field handicaps. This is each-way territory. Large fields with competitive, unpredictable races where 10 or more horses have a genuine place chance. The extra-place promotions from bookmakers at major meetings can tip marginal situations into genuine value.

Small-field races. Generally poor for each-way. Five runners, two places, 1/4 odds — the place terms are tight and the place fraction is small. In a five-runner race where the favourite is 6/4, an each-way bet on a 12/1 outsider gives you place odds of just 3/1 for finishing first or second. Unless you think that horse has a 25%+ chance of finishing in the top two, it’s not value.

Non-handicaps. Class-based races where the best horse usually wins. Each-way can work if you’ve identified a horse that might not beat the obvious class act but is nailed on for a place. Cheltenham Festival novice races often produce these situations — a Mullins or Elliott horse is clear favourite, but one or two others are solid for a place at generous prices.

Bookmaker promotions and extra places

Nearly all the major bookmakers offer extra-place promotions on selected races. These are usually big televised handicaps. Instead of paying four places, they’ll pay five, six, or even seven.

These promotions are powerful. Adding even one extra place significantly changes the maths. If a bookmaker normally pays four places and extends to five, you’ve suddenly got a 25% wider net for the place part. On a 20/1 shot, the chance of placing in the top five of a 20-runner race might be 30-35%, and the effective place odds of 5/1 make it strong value.

The catch is that bookmakers know this too. They sometimes shorten the odds on likely each-way targets, or restrict stakes. Still, extra-place offers remain one of the most reliable edges available to punters, and if you’re not using them, you’re leaving money on the table.

A practical approach

If you’re going to bet each-way regularly, a few guidelines worth remembering:

The horse needs to be at least 6/1, ideally 8/1 or bigger, for the each-way element to add meaningful value. Below that, you’re often losing money on the place part when it comes in.

Check the place terms before you bet. It sounds obvious, but the difference between 1/4 odds and 1/5 odds is significant. In the same race, a bookmaker offering 1/4 place odds gives you 25% better place returns than one offering 1/5.

Think about the horse’s profile. Is it the type that runs consistently in the first few, or is it boom-or-bust? Consistent types are better each-way propositions because the place part fires more often.

Compare the implied place odds with the exchange place market. If the bookmaker’s each-way terms give you effective place odds of 5/1 and the Betfair place market has the horse at 3/1, the each-way bet is strong value on the place part alone.

Don’t back every horse each-way just because it’s a big field and the price is big. The bet still needs a logical basis. Each-way is a bet structure, not a strategy on its own.