What do the numbers mean?.........?

Question

http://int.bestbetting.com/horse-racing/uk/sunday

It's odds for tomorrow, it does 2.1/1 mean it's like half chance it'll win, but then fractions don't equal 1...

and why do the bigger numbers not have the "/1" bit..

So.. out of those horses.. which one is most likely to win? the one at the top?

Answer 1

The odds reflect the money that pays out...it goes money paid out/money bet.  

For example...if a horse is 10-1 odds to win, if you place a $2 bet on the horse and it wins...you get 10 dollars per dollar you bet, plus your original bet back.  If that horse wins then, you'd get $22.

In the event of cases like 6-5 bets or something like that...those state that the horses are considered the clear favorites so you won't get as much money back if you bet on them.  Same logic would apply.  

On your sheet there...looks like the favorites are 1 and 2.  But there are a lot of factors to figure also.  Weather affects how fast or slow the track is, the jockey riding...and sometimes plain random luck. I've seen 75-1 long shots blow away the field and win, and then the heavy favorite lays an egg and finishes in the middle of the pack.

Answer 2

Like bruiserkc2 said, the odds reflect how much the horse will pay for each dollar, or pound, bet if it wins. In the example you give of 2.1/1, that means that the horse will pay 2.1 times the amount bet plus your original bet. In this case, if you bet $2, the horse would pay 2 X 2.1 plus 2 = $6.2. The odds that are listed are called the morning line and are really an estimation of what the real final odds will be. The final odds won't be known until post time since they are based on how much is bet on each horse.

While there are occasional longshots that win at high odds, most races are won by horses with short odds. In fact, studies have shown that in general the public is pretty good at predicting the winning chances of horses. Ex: 2/1 shots tend to win one race in 3 and 10/1, one race in 11, in the long run.

Of course, the best method, and the most fun is to pick winners based on your own handicapping knowledge. However, looking at the morning line or public odds is a good starting point for beginners. As you become more experienced, you can use the odds to see if you are getting a fair price for your bet relative to the risk.

Bob