Any UK horse racing fan, from those with a casual interest to professional gamblers, will have their own approach to picking a winner. Some like to concentrate on what they view to be a ‘sure thing’, while others have a more speculative approach in looking for good value bets. You don’t need many 80-1 winners for instance to have had a very successful betting year. Others have a focus that’s form based, or follow a specific trainer, or jockey. There’s no shortage of different approaches and that’s what makes betting on and following horse racing so interesting.
Betting can be more than just ‘picking a winner’. There’s nothing more frustrating than essentially being right in your prediction for a race (say, a 50-1 shot putting up a fantastic performance but just falling short) but not financially benefiting from it. This can be where utilising each way bets can be a great strategy. An each way bet is in fact two separate bets, one bet is a straight win bet, and the other a place bet. The place bet can, for instance, mean first 2, 3 or 4 finishers depending on the size of the field. The stake doubles too due to the two separate components of the bet.
An example of an each way bet would be as follows: £10 each way at 7/1, 3 places at 1/5 odds = £104 if it wins, £24 if it places. It can be tricky to work out your each way returns as there are multiple factors involved, so online calculators can be useful for a quick answer on that front.
Outsiders are perfect choices for each way betting as the betting market has effectively decided that the horse likely isn’t up to the task, so if you personally have other ideas, then if it wins fantastic, and if it narrowly falls short you’re still rewarded for your insight into the outcome. It’s a bit of a safety net, and can still result in healthy profits. By the same token, short price horses may not be ideal candidates for each way betting.
There are additional factors with each way bets which can reduce the potential payout, such as Rule 4 where a horse is withdrawn from the race, reducing the bet’s returns due to the rule 4 deduction. Also, non-runners can reduce the number of places paid, or result in a stake return (with 5-7 runners each way terms cover 2 places, with 8-11 runners 3 places etc.). No type of bet is a magic wand, but, under the right circumstances, each way and place bets can be a valuable tool to have at your disposal.