A win bet is a bet that your runner finishes first. Punters also call it a win-only bet, or a bet on the nose. If the runner wins you are paid, and if it runs second, third or anywhere else the bet loses. Racing NSW's guide to betting puts it as picking the runner you think will finish first.
At fixed odds, return = stake x odds, so $10 at an illustrative $5.00 returns $50: your $10 back plus $40 profit, because profit = stake x (odds - 1) = $10 x 4.00. It is the simplest of the horse racing bet types, and horse racing betting covers the rest of a race day.
A win bet at fixed odds, on the tote and at SP
The bet is the same in all three cases; what changes is the number it is paid at:
- Fixed odds: the price on your ticket, agreed when the bookmaker accepts the bet, as fixed odds explains.
- Tote: the win dividend per $1, declared after the result from the race's win pool, less the operator's commission.
- Starting price: the official price at the jump, where your bookmaker offers it, as starting price betting explains.
How to bet on horse racing prices one win bet all three ways, step by step.
Dead heats for first and scratched runners
Bets settle on the placings at correct weight (AR 212 and AR 214(6) of the Australian Rules of Racing). Two things can still change what the bet pays:
- A dead heat for first. Racing NSW's Rules of Betting pay bets with NSW on-course bookmakers half the ticket's face value (BR 16), so $20 at an illustrative $4.20 returns $84 / 2 = $42 in a two-way dead heat. On the tote the win pool is split between the backed dead-heaters, each paying its own dividend (rule 12.1 of the tote rules gazetted in WA in 2010). Online bookmakers set their own rule, so check the terms; dead heat rules covers bigger ties.
- A scratching. If your runner is scratched, the stake comes back unless the bet was all in. If another runner is scratched late, a winning fixed-odds bet struck before it can be paid less a deduction the Stewards declare in cents in the dollar, applied as your bookmaker's terms say. Scratchings and deductions works through the maths, and the bet calculator gives the return with a dead heat or a deduction applied.
Win, place or each way
With illustrative prices of $5.00 to win and $1.90 to place, in a field of 8 or more that pays three places:
| Bet | Outlay | Runner wins | Runner runs 2nd or 3rd | Runner unplaced |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $10 win at $5.00 | $10 | $50.00 | $0 | $0 |
| $10 place at $1.90 | $10 | $19.00 | $19.00 | $0 |
| $10 each way | $20 | $50.00 + $19.00 = $69.00 | $19.00 | $0 |
Backing to win returns the most per dollar staked when the runner wins, and nothing otherwise. The place bet pays on three results at a lower price, and in the each way row a placing returns $19 on a $20 outlay, a $1 loss. How many places a race pays depends on the rules that settle the bet, as place betting explains.
Shopping a win price before you bet
On a win bet the price is the whole return: $20 at $4.20 returns $84, and at $4.60 it returns $92 (illustrative prices). The Terminal shows fixed prices from 40+ bookmakers across racing and sports in side-by-side columns, with the best available price on each runner picked out. The board reads prices on a repeating cycle, so check the price in your own bookmaker account before you confirm.
Risk: Betting involves risk. A longer price raises what a winning bet returns, not how often the runner wins, and the bet loses its whole stake when the runner is beaten. See responsible gambling for limits and support.