How do you understand the odds in horse racing? UK?

Question

I dont have a clue what like ... 4/1 is what ever any help would be great, thanks.

Answer 1

heres an example. if a horse is 4/1: then it means that for every 1 pound you bet, if he wins, you get 4 back .  

so if you like horse number 3 and he is 10/1, you bet 5 pound to win and he wins then you will win 50 pound.

Answer 2

Real 5-1 means there is one chance in SIX that the predicted outcome will occur, as in the throw of a single die, but for a random event such as this the bookie is likely to offer no more than 4 and half to 1 so that he may make a profit, since if all 6 numbers are bet equally he will retain 9.09 out of every 109.09 which he takes in bets. This is the basic principle of bookmaking which is present in every betting market.

Answer 3

Go to http://www.onlinegambling.com/sports/odd...

Answer 4

In the UK when a bookmaker offers 4/1 on a horse he is saying, give me a £1 (your stake) and if the horse comes first you will win £4 and I will give you back the £1 you staked making a win total of £5.00

The bookmaker works out the chances of each horse in the race based on its current form (the way it has been running in previous races etc) and the price i.e. 4/1 will reflect this, but for the punter (the person placing the bet) Its mainly all to do with money and speculating how much you can win from the bookmaker for your £1 staked to win.

Here are a few more examples:-

11/8   -      Ã‚£11 for every £8 staked

5/2     -     £5 for every £2 staked

7/2     -     £7 for every £2 staked

20/1   -     £20 for every £1 staked - nice odds if you can find a winner

The figure after the forward slash is your stake, the figure before the slash is your return if the horse wins, and your stake is always returned, so a £2 win at 7/2 gives you £9.00.

If the figures are reversed i.e.

8/11    -  Ã‚£8 win for an £11 stake

2/5     -   £2 win for a £5 stake

These are called odds on bets and are best avoided for small stakes.

If you want to back your horse to win or place, that is called an each way bet and you would write it on a betting slip stating the name of the horse, what your stake is i.e. £1 each way, the racecourse that he is running at and the time of the race, for example:-

2.30 Newmarket

VELVET MOON - £1 EW

If Velvet Moon wins at 5/1 you could expect £5 for your win part and for the each way place part of the bet, you are usually paid 1/5 of the odds so that would be £1 - with your £2 stake returned you would pick up £8.00. in total

To go into any more figures would just become confusing at this stage but hope this helps for a start.xx

Answer 5

ive never been to a horserace before but if the odds of horse A winning the race is 4 to 1

then he is 4 times as likely to win the race, and therefore the payout is 4 times less

Answer 6

Go with Mysilv. above.

if it's 4/1 you get 4 X whatever you stake plus your stake back.

So stake £1 =  4 X£1 + £1 + £5.

Answer 7

4 to 1 is just common ratio for what you learned in school 4 to 1 means that the horse on average wins 1 in every 4 races or 25% or say 8 to 1 being 12.5% it just means how often the horse wins. when there is a smaller ratio you will have a smaller payout when you win because the horse had a better chance of winning and vica-versa.