Horse Racing Bet Types Explained: Every UK Bet in One Guide

Single (win) bet

A single, or win bet, is one stake on one horse to win. If it wins, you are paid at the odds you took (or the starting price). If it does not, you lose the stake. It is the simplest bet in racing and the easiest to keep track of.

Place bet

A place bet pays if your horse finishes in the places. You get a smaller price than for a win. With bookmakers, place-only betting is usually done through each-way or “without the favourite” markets. The Tote and the exchanges offer straight place pools and markets.

How many places are paid depends on the number of runners (see the each-way table below).

Each-way bet

An each-way bet is two bets of the same stake: one for the horse to win and one for it to place. So £5 each-way costs £10. If it wins, both parts pay. If it only places, the place part pays at a fraction of the odds.

These are the standard UK terms. On big races many bookmakers pay extra places. Read our guide to extra places.

Forecast (straight forecast)

Pick the horses to finish first and second in the correct order. It is one bet. The payout is calculated by the bookmaker’s forecast formula (the Computer Straight Forecast) or by the Tote pool, not by multiplying the odds.

Reverse forecast

Pick two horses to finish first and second in either order. It is two straight forecasts (A then B, and B then A), so £1 reverse forecast costs £2.

Combination forecast

Pick three or more horses, and any two of them to finish first and second in either order. It covers every pair in both orders: 3 horses is 6 bets, 4 horses is 12 bets and 5 horses is 20 bets.

Tricast

Pick the first, second and third in the correct order. A combination tricast covers every order: 3 horses is 6 bets and 4 horses is 24 bets. Tricasts are usually only available in handicaps with 8 or more runners.

Swinger

A swinger is a Tote pool bet: pick two horses to both finish in the first three, in any order. It is easier to land than a forecast, so it usually pays less.

Double, treble and accumulator

A double is two selections, a treble three, and four or more is an accumulator (a 4-fold, 5-fold and so on). It is one bet, and every selection must win. The winnings from the first leg become the stake on the next, so the odds multiply.

Each-way accumulators are two bets: a win acca and a place acca.

Conditional bets (“any to come”)

A conditional bet only goes on if an earlier bet wins. The most common is “any to come” (ATC), also called an “if cash” bet: if your first horse wins, part of the return is staked on a second horse. A stop-at-a-winner bet moves down a list of horses until one wins. These are mainly placed in betting shops, and few apps offer them.

Trixie

3 selections, 4 bets: 3 doubles and 1 treble. You need at least two winners for a return.

Patent

3 selections, 7 bets: 3 singles, 3 doubles and 1 treble. One winner gets a return.

Yankee

4 selections, 11 bets: 6 doubles, 4 trebles and a 4-fold. No singles, so you need at least two winners.

Lucky 15

4 selections, 15 bets: a Yankee plus the 4 singles. It is the most popular full-cover bet in UK racing. Many bookmakers add bonuses, such as double or treble odds if you have only one winner, and a bonus if all four win. Check each app’s terms. See how to place a Lucky 15 on the William Hill app or the 888sport app.

Canadian (Super Yankee)

5 selections, 26 bets: 10 doubles, 10 trebles, 5 four-folds and a 5-fold. You need two winners for a return.

Lucky 31

5 selections, 31 bets: a Canadian plus the 5 singles. One winner gets a return.

Heinz

6 selections, 57 bets, like the 57 varieties: 15 doubles, 20 trebles, 15 four-folds, 6 five-folds and a 6-fold. You need two winners.

Lucky 63

6 selections, 63 bets: a Heinz plus the 6 singles. One winner gets a return.

Alphabet

6 selections, 26 bets built from smaller bets: a Patent on selections 1–3, a Patent on selections 4–6, a Yankee on selections 2–5, and a 6-fold on all six. Order matters, so put your strongest picks in the Yankee.

Super Heinz

7 selections, 120 bets: every double up to the 7-fold. You need two winners.

Goliath

8 selections, 247 bets: every double up to the 8-fold. You need two winners, and a big return needs most of the eight to win.

Placepot

Pick a horse to be placed in each of the first six races at a meeting. You can pick more than one horse per race. Each extra pick multiplies the number of lines, and the cost. The Quadpot works the same way over races 3 to 6. See our step-by-step placepot guide.

Jackpot

Pick the winner of six races at a set meeting. It is much harder than the Placepot, and if nobody wins the pool it can carry over to the next Jackpot, which makes it bigger.

Scoop6

The Tote’s big Saturday bet: pick the winners of six chosen races, usually across televised meetings. There is a win fund and a smaller place fund, and unwon pools can roll over. Check the Tote for the current rules.

Ante-post (future) bet

An ante-post bet is placed days, weeks or months before a race, before the final runners are known. Prices are often much bigger than on the day. The catch is that if your horse does not run, you usually lose your stake. Some bookmakers offer “non-runner no bet” on big races, so look out for it.