Negative odds for horse racing?

Question

I just saw on the news that the odds of Big Brown are 2:5. So does this mean if he wins, for every 5 dollars you bet, you win 2, thus a net loss of 3?

all the rest are x:1, where x is greater than 1. meaning you'll get x dollars per every 1 dollar you put in if your horse wins.

Answer 1

I dont think there would be too many backers if it was a guarenteed loss.

Bookies change the odds from eg x:1 to 2:5 because they don't use decimal points. 10 to one is a round number where as 2:5 is a decimal like $1.50

Answer 2

Here is the formula for odds 9-5 or less.

add the 9 and 5 = 14 Multiply by 4

14x 4 = $5.60 for a $2 dollar bet.  

2+5 = 7 x 4 = $2.80 for a $2 dollar bet.

Answer 3

You always get your initial bet back.  That means that when you win $2 for every $5, you get $7 back at the window.

And yes, you're right about the x1.  For the win bet, if the horse is 10-1, you get $10 for every $1 you bet... so for a $2 bet, you'd get $22 (you won $20 and you get your $2 back).

Even if there's a negative pool, the lowest the track can give you is $2.10 for every $2 bet.  If there's a negative pool, the track loses the money, not you.  I won't bet on horses where I'd only make 10 cents for my bet... that's just silly to risk your $2 for a chance to win 10 cents.

You often see negative show pools, but usually the horse will pay a little more to win.  The pool that's often ignored is the place pool... Big Brown paid more to place than to win in the Preakness!