A late scratching is a runner withdrawn from a race after the race-morning deadline for scratchings, up to the start and sometimes at the barriers. In Queensland's Wagering Rule the term has a precise meaning: a runner scratched after the time the race club sets for notifying scratchings but before the race starts, including one that is not scratched but does not become a starter.
What makes it matter is timing: betting is already open. Money on the scratched runner is refunded, and winning fixed-odds bets on the others struck before it can be paid less a deduction. Refunds and deductions are two of the settlement rules horse racing betting sets side by side.
When a scratching counts as late
The deadline is a race-morning one. Racing Australia lists interim scratchings closing at 7:30 am local time in most states, with final scratchings at 7:45 am (checked October 2026), and Racing NSW's Local Rules move it to 10:00 am for night meetings (LR 36A). The Australian Rules of Racing require notice at least 45 minutes before the start, or earlier where Local Rules say so (AR 181). The Stewards can still scratch a horse up to the start if it is unfit to run or will not enter its barrier (AR 21(j) and AR 200).
Rule books draw the line in different places. Queensland's counts from the club's scratching time, and WA's rules for its bookmakers from when the time for withdrawal has elapsed (r 56). WA's rules for RWWA's own fixed-odds betting call any runner withdrawn after the final field is declared a late scratched runner (r 62A). So a horse scratched after final fields but before the race-morning deadline is late under RWWA's definition and not the other two.
What it does to fixed-odds and tote bets
- Fixed odds: a win or place bet on the scratched runner struck after final acceptances is refunded (Queensland s 37(7)), but an all-in futures bet is not. Winning bets on other runners struck before the scratching can be paid less a deduction the Stewards declare in cents in the dollar.
- Tote: a bet on the scratched runner is refunded, and a quaddie or double pick moves to a substitute (2010 WA-gazetted tote rules, rule 9).
With illustrative figures, a $40 win bet at $3.60 struck before a late scratching with a 7c win deduction pays $40 x 3.60 x (1 - 0.07) = $133.92, against $144.00 without it. That is the face-value reading NSW's BR 14(4) uses. Scratchings and deductions sets that against the winnings-only reading, the deductions calculator works out any case, and exotic scratching rules covers quaddies and trifectas.
Place terms when the field drops below 8
A late scratching can take an 8-runner field to 7, the line between three places and two. Rule books fix the places at different moments:
| Your bet | When the places are fixed | Places paid |
|---|---|---|
| Tote place bet (2010 WA-gazetted rules) | The field at official scratchings, notwithstanding any late scratching | 3 |
| Fixed odds under Queensland's rule | The field when scratchings are notified (s 26) | 3 |
| NSW on-course or WA bookmaker place bet struck before the scratching | The field when the bet is made (BR 18; r 49) | 3 |
| The same bet struck after it | As above | 2 |
| Online bookmaker | Its own terms | Check them |
Under Queensland's rule the tote place pool is refunded if late scratchings take the field below 5 (s 109(3)).
How prices move after a late scratching
The runners left usually shorten once a late scratching is announced, as each bookmaker frames the race again without it. The Terminal shows prices from 40+ bookmakers across racing and sports, with Betfair back and lay alongside, and the re-price shows in each runner's price history (flucs). Prices are collected in repeated reads, not tick by tick, so the newest re-price may not be on screen yet: check it with your bookmaker. A free account opens a limited view of the Terminal with live odds. Bookmaker names are trade marks of their owners. B337 is not affiliated with them. Betfair is a trade mark of its owner, and B337 is not affiliated with it.
Risk: Betting involves risk. A late scratching can cut a winning bet's return after you placed it, and a deduction stacked with a dead heat can take it below your stake. See responsible gambling for limits and support.