Roughie is Australian racing slang meaning a runner at long odds, one the market gives little chance of winning: Racing Victoria's glossary calls it a horse at a long price with a much lower chance of winning. Longshot, or long shot, is the general word for the same thing in any market, racing or sport. A $21.00 roughie implies a chance of 1 / 21.00 = about 4.8%.
Horse racing terms lists roughie beside the rest of the punting slang. A roughie can be backed to win, each way or inside an exotic, and horse racing betting shows what each of those bets needs to collect.
How long is a roughie?
No rule book sets a price at which a runner becomes a roughie: it is relative to the field, and in a five-runner race an $8.00 chance can be the roughie. As a guide to common usage, not a definition:
| Price | Implied chance (1 / price) | How it is usually described |
|---|---|---|
| $5.00 | 20.0% | In the market, not a roughie |
| $11.00 | 9.1% | Starting to be called a roughie |
| $21.00 | 4.8% | A roughie, or longshot |
| $51.00 | 2.0% | A big roughie, or bolter |
| $101.00 | 1.0% | A rank outsider |
Each implied chance includes the bookmaker's margin, so the runner's fair chance is a little lower again.
What long prices return per dollar
The favourite-longshot bias is the name for a pattern in which long-priced runners return less per dollar staked than short-priced ones. It is not a law, so test it on bets you have already settled: divide what each price band returned by what it staked, and treat a long-price band with only a few dozen bets in it as too small to read. Past results are no guarantee of future results. A long price is only value if it sits above the runner's fair price, which value betting on horse racing shows how to estimate.
Roughies in exotics and multis
- In a multi, the odds multiply: a $2.00 leg with a $21.00 roughie (illustrative prices) is 2.00 x 21.00 = $42.00, and both still have to win. The bookmaker's margin multiplies with the legs as well.
- In a trifecta or first four, a roughie in the placings tends to lift the dividend, because few tickets include it. Adding one to a box is costly: three runners boxed is 3 x 2 x 1 = 6 combinations and four is 4 x 3 x 2 = 24. The cost quadruples at the same stake per combination, or a flexi bet of the same outlay falls to a quarter of the percentage.
- Each way, the place half can return part of the outlay: $10 each way at $26.00 to win and $6.00 to place (illustrative) costs $20, and a placing returns $60 from the place half alone.
Risk: Betting involves risk. A multi or exotic that needs a roughie loses whenever the roughie does, and an each way bet doubles your outlay. See responsible gambling for limits and support.
Comparing prices on a roughie
At long odds the gap between bookmakers is bigger in dollars: $26.00 against $34.00 (illustrative) is an $80 difference in the return on a $10 winner, 10 x 34.00 - 10 x 26.00. The Terminal shows prices from 40+ bookmakers across racing and sports, each bookmaker in its own column, runner by runner, with the best available price on each runner picked out and Betfair back and lay alongside. A price on screen can trail the bookmaker's own, so confirm it in your account before you bet. 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 roughie loses most of the time by definition, losing runs at long prices can be long, and a better price only raises what a winner returns. See responsible gambling for limits and support.