Each Way Horses Explained

If you like betting on horses explained, you might be keen to know what an each way bet is. Put simple, an each way bet is two bets. It is one bet on your horse to win, and one bet on your horse to be placed.

This means that you need to double your stake for an each way bet. So for example, if you are having a £10 bet on a horse, and you want it to be an each-way bet, it would cost you £20. This would be two bets of £10. First you would be having £10 on the horse to win, and second, £10 on the horse to be placed.

Each Way Horses Bet Explained

– You have £10.00 each way on a horse to win at 10/1.
– The bookmakers terms are 1/4 of the odds for a top 3 finish.
– This means your bet would cost £20.
– £10 on the horse to win at 10/1.
– The second £10 is on the horse to place at quarter of the odds (2.5/1)

– Your horse wins, you win £125 plus your £20 stake back
– You win £100 on horse finishing 1st at 10/1
– And £25 on the horse finishing in the places

– If the horse finished 2nd or 3rd, you would win £25 for getting a place, plus £10 of your stake back.
– You would lose the other half of your bet (£10, as the horse didn’t win).
– So you would get back £35, a profit of £15.

What Is A Placed Horse?

Next we move on to what is a placed horse. A placed horse is one that finishes in the positions that get paid out each-way. If your horse is placed, you will win the each-way side of your bet.

A placed finish is one of 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th – depending on the size of the race, and the type of the race (handicap, or non handicap). It’s not one size fits all. Below we have the relevant race sizes and types, showing how many horses are placed in what sized racing field.

Handicap Each Way Horses

2-4 runners – Win Only
5-7 runners – 1/4 odds first 2
8-11 runners – 1/5 odds first 3
12-15 runners – 1/4 odds first 3
16+ runners – 1/4 odds first 4

Non Handicap Each Way Horses

2-4 runners – Win Only
5-7 runners – 1/4 odds first 2
8-11 runners – 1/5 odds first 3
12+ runners – 1/5 odds first 3

As you can see from the above tables, there is better value in each-way horses on bigger fields of handicap races. So in non-handicap races, anything above 8 runners is 1/5 of the odds for a top 3 finish. While in handicap races, you have the chance to get 4 places at 1/4 of the odds on larger races such as the Grand National.

Each Way Horses Explained
Horses lining up for the Grand National, a great each way horse racing event.

All of these terms are determined by the amount of horses that start the race. So if there is 3 horses already declared in the betting that pull out of the race on the starting line, then they don’t count towards the race. Meaning your each-way terms will have almost certainly changed.

Grand National Extra Each Way Places

As we already eluded to, one of the great races for each way betting is the Grand National. Even though it states above that you can get 1/4 of the odds on a top 4 finish on the big race, when it comes to the Grand National, this isn’t great value. You may ask why this is? And the answer would be because certain bookmakers will offer extra Grand National each way places to try and get our custom.

Every year there are a handful of bookmakers who will offer 5 each way places on the Grand National. Most of the bookies offering 5 each way places will do so at 1/5 of the odds. You do get the odd one that will offer it at 1/4 of the odds, so make sure to check.

There is also bookmakers out there that will offer 6 each way places on the Grand National. This offer is usually held back until a day or two before the race. Meaning it’s worth holding fire on your bets until as late as possible.

Free Bets Online

Most bookmakers offer free bets online or welcome bonuses to new customers. Here at Betfree247 we have a selection of free bets from reputable online bookmakers, just waiting to be claimed.

At the moment you can claim hundreds of pounds of online free bets. Simply click on the bookmakers link and open a new account, in order to claim the free bet offer.

The majority of the bookmakers offering horse racing free bets on this website are UK and Irish household names. They are reputable, tried and tested. So we’re extremely confident that they offer the best online free bets currently available, and that you can be sure you are betting with a trusted source.

Be aware that gambling can be risky.  So make sure you read the terms and conditions before betting. This helps ensure that you fully understand what you are doing before parting with any cash.

You have to be 18+ to use this website. Also, please Be Gamble Aware, and if betting is becoming a problem, make sure you get professional help.