Horse Betting Odds Explained Articles | Horse Betting

By: Richard Bleuze

Horse Betting Odds Explained.

You would be surprised how many horse bettors do not understand horse betting odds at all.  The basic information quoted are the win odds on each horse.  The odds quoted will tell you the amount of profit you will get and the amount you have to bet to get it when horse betting.  Thus, 6-5 means you will get $6 profit for every $5 wagered.  Most racetracks have a $2 minimum bet.  Thus, below is a handy chart to look up the payoff for a $2 bet at various odds. Remember, your actual payoff may differ from this chart since the odds at most racetracks are rounded off.  Just remember, that payoffs use the actual odds and are rounded down to the nearest nickle or dime depending on the rules at that track. 

If you want to calculate the exact win odds on a horse, you will need to know the following:  total win pool and amount bet on that horse.  As a rule, the total pool is all the money bet on all the horses to win, but it is NOT the amount that will actually be paid out to the holders of winning tickets. Before the racetrack pays off the winners they deduct the "take" which is generally between 14%-20% and is different for every state.  This money is used to pay state and local taxes, purse money for the horsemen, expenses at the track, and the track's profit.  If you really must find the exact odds, just calculate the exact odds on your horse and subtract the take from the total pool.  Then subtract the amount bet on your horse to give you the amount of cash to be paid out.  Divide that figure by the amount bet on your horse to get the exact odds.  This figure will always be rounded off to the nearest dime (usually) or nickle as mentioned above before the payoffs are calculated.  Ask yourself, is it really worth the extra effort for the amount bet?  Here is a simple example of win odds calculation:

Total pool: $900
Amount bet on horse #1: $300
Take amount: 15%
$900 - 15% = $765
$765 - $300 = $465
$465 / $300 = $1.55

Round this off to $1.50 for breakage and you get odds of 1.5-1 or 3-2 as it would normally be written which yields a payoff of $5.00 on a $2.00 wager.

Pay-offs for $2 win bets:
ODDS PAYS       ODDS PAYS       ODDS PAYS
1-5 $2.40               8-5 $5.20            6-1 $14.00
2-5 $2.80               9-5 $5.60            7-1 $16.00
1-2 $3.00               2-1 $6.00            8-1 $18.00
3-5 $3.20               5-2 $7.00            9-1 $20.00
4-5 $3.60               3-1 $8.00           10-1 $22.00
1-1 $4.00               7-2 $9.00           15-1 $32.00
6-5 $4.40               4-1 $10.00         20-1 $42.00
7-5 $4.80               9-2 $11.00         30-1 $62.00
3-2 $5.00               5-1 $12.00         50-1 $102.00

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