In greyhound place betting, your dog only has to finish in the places, winning included. On the tote, the field at final scratchings sets how many places pay: the top three from eight dogs, the top two from five to seven, and none from four or fewer. The Greyhounds Australasia Rules (GAR), effective 1 January 2026, define a race as an event between up to eight greyhounds, so three places need every box filled: one scratching that no reserve covers can cut the places paid from three to two.
NSW's greyhound rules count the dogs when an on-course bet is made instead, and online bookmakers write their own place terms. Greyhound racing betting explains how the race itself runs.
How many places a greyhound race pays
Each rule book counts the field at its own moment:
| Dogs in the field | Tote place bet (2010 tote rules) | NSW on-course greyhound bookmakers (LR184AA) | WA bookmakers (r 49 and r 50) | Online bookmakers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 1st, 2nd or 3rd | 1st to 3rd, at a quarter of the win odds | 1st to 3rd | Set in their terms |
| 5 to 7 | 1st or 2nd | 1st or 2nd, at a third of the win odds | 1st or 2nd | Set in their terms |
| 4 or fewer | No place betting | No rule given | No place or each way betting (r 50(3)) | Set in their terms |
| When the dogs are counted | At final scratchings; if fewer than five remain, the place pool is refunded | When the bet is made | When the bet is made | Set in their terms |
The tote column is the place bet definition in the tote rules gazetted for Racing and Wagering Western Australia (WA Government Gazette No. 149, 3 August 2010), which fixes the field "notwithstanding any late Scratching". The NSW column is LR184AA of the NSW Greyhound Racing Rules, effective 1 November 2025; its fractions apply unless a bookmaker displays its own place odds on every runner, or a notice that it bets on other terms. WA's Rules of Wagering 2005 count starters "at the time the wager is made", and r 50(3) allows no place or each way bets when four or fewer are listed as betting opens.
On the dogs, "8 or more" means exactly 8: a horse race of 12 can lose four runners and still pay three places, as place betting shows, but a greyhound race one dog short of eight at final scratchings pays two. An online bookmaker's terms can count the dogs when your bet is struck, at final scratchings as the tote does, or as they jump: its racing rules say which.
What reserves and empty boxes do to the places paid
A reserve dog, one of up to two named under GAR rule 85, can fill a scratched dog's box at the appointed scratching time, when scratchings close, and so keep the field at eight.
| What happened before the jump | Dogs that start | Tote places |
|---|---|---|
| A dog scratched before scratchings close, and a reserve takes its box | 8 | Three |
| A dog scratched before scratchings close, with no reserve to replace it | 7 | Two |
| Only seven dogs eligible at the box draw, so box 5 is left vacant (GAR rule 85(3)) | 7 | Two |
| A dog scratched late, after final scratchings, leaving its box empty | 7 | Three |
| Late scratchings take a race that had five dogs at final scratchings down to four | 4 | Place pool refunded (rules 10.2 and 10.3) |
No reserve is available when none was named, or two dogs go with one reserve. Greyhound Racing Victoria's Bottom-Up meetings draw no reserves (grading guidelines effective 5 August 2026). A late scratching leaves a vacant box (rule 85(6)), yet the tote still pays three places.
A place bet when the field drops to seven, worked
Example: Illustrative prices, not a real race. You back box 2 for $20 to place in an eight-dog race. An on-course bookmaker working to the NSW greyhound terms has box 2 at $6.00 to win, so a place pays 1 + (6.00 - 1) / 4 = $2.25 with eight dogs. Box 2 finishes third, and the tote declares an illustrative place dividend of $2.35.
| What happens to the dog in box 5 | Dogs that start | Tote place bet | On-course place bet, NSW greyhound terms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scratched before scratchings close; a reserve starts from box 5 | 8 | Three places: $20 x 2.35 = $47.00 | Struck on the final field: three places, $20 x 2.25 = $45.00 |
| Scratched before scratchings close; no reserve available | 7 | Two places: third returns nothing | Two places: third returns nothing |
| Scratched late, after final scratchings; box 5 runs empty | 7 | Still three places: paid at the declared dividend | Struck before the scratching: three places, $45.00 less any place deduction. Struck after it: two places, nothing |
The same third place is worth $47, $45 or nothing, depending on timing and whose rules apply.
Greyhound each way bets
Each way on a dog is two equal bets, win and place, so $10 each way is a $20 outlay. NSW on-course bookmakers, and WA bookmakers under r 55(7), pay the place half at the fractions in the first table: a quarter of the win odds with eight dogs, a third with five to seven. Online bookmakers set their own each way terms.
With an illustrative $10 each way at $7.00 on quarter-odds terms, the place half pays 1 + (7.00 - 1) / 4 = $2.50:
| Result | Win half: $10 x 7.00 | Place half | Total return on $20 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wins | $70.00 | $10 x 2.50 = $25.00 | $95.00 |
| Second or third, eight dogs | Nothing | $25.00 | $25.00 |
| Second, bet struck with seven dogs (third would pay nothing) | Nothing | $10 x (1 + 6 / 3) = $30.00 | $30.00 |
A placing covers the whole $20 only if the place half pays at least $2.00. At a quarter of the odds that takes a win price of 1 + 4 x (2.00 - 1) = $5.00 or longer; at a third, 1 + 3 x (2.00 - 1) = $4.00 or longer. The each way calculator runs these sums for any price.
Risk: Betting involves risk. An each way bet doubles the outlay, a placing on a short dog can return less than you staked, and an unplaced run loses both halves. See responsible gambling for limits and support.
A fair place price from the win odds
A place price prices a top-two or top-three finish, not a fixed share of the win price. The Harville method estimates that chance from every dog's win chance, treating the race for second as a fresh race among the dogs left. How place odds are calculated sets out the method, and the Harville formula page explains its lean towards favourites in the minor places.
Example: Illustrative chances, not a real race. A scratching that no reserve covered leaves seven dogs, so two places are paid. Your fair win chances are box 1 28%, box 2 20%, box 3 16%, box 4 12%, box 6 10%, box 7 8% and box 8 6%, adding to 100%.
Box 3 runs second when another dog wins and box 3 beats the rest, so each term is the winner's chance x 0.16 / (1 - the winner's chance):
| Winner | Working | Chance box 3 runs second |
|---|---|---|
| Box 1 | 0.28 x 0.16 / 0.72 | 6.22% |
| Box 2 | 0.20 x 0.16 / 0.80 | 4.00% |
| Box 4 | 0.12 x 0.16 / 0.88 | 2.18% |
| Box 6 | 0.10 x 0.16 / 0.90 | 1.78% |
| Box 7 | 0.08 x 0.16 / 0.92 | 1.39% |
| Box 8 | 0.06 x 0.16 / 0.94 | 1.02% |
| Total | 16.59% |
Top two = 16% + 16.59% = about 32.59%, a fair place price of 1 / 0.3259 = $3.068, so an illustrative $3.30 for the top two is 3.30 / 3.068 - 1 = 7.6% above it. Had three places been paid, as on the tote after a late scratching, the chance would rise to about 49.53%, a fair 1 / 0.4953 = $2.019. That adds the 30 orders in which box 3 runs third, each p(first) x p(second) / (1 - p(first)) x 0.16 / (1 - p(first) - p(second)).
Risk: Betting involves risk. A fair place price is an estimate built from your own win chances, and a dog priced above it can still miss the places. See responsible gambling for limits and support.
Dead heats and deductions on a place bet
Under LR184AA, a dead heat for third with an NSW on-course bookmaker pays half the face value of the place portion: the worked race's $20 at $2.25 returns $45 / 2 = $22.50. Dead heat rules compares the tote and the other rule books.
A late scratching can bring a place deduction, declared separately from the win deduction. NSW's greyhound rules stop an on-course deduction leaving a place bet with less than the stake plus 1% when eight dogs were listed when betting opened, or plus 2% with five to seven, dead heats aside.
An illustrative $40 place bet at $1.25, with eight dogs listed when betting opened and a 22c deduction off the face value, would pay $40 x 1.25 x (1 - 0.22) = $39.00, so the floor lifts it to $40 x 1.01 = $40.40. Greyhound betting rules covers deductions in full.
Mistakes that make greyhound place bets cost more
- Each way on a short dog. An illustrative $10 each way at $3.40 on quarter-odds terms pays the place half at 1 + 2.40 / 4 = $1.60, so a placing returns $16 on a $20 outlay.
- Judging a two-place price against a three-place fair price. In the worked race, an illustrative $2.60 looks 2.60 / 2.019 - 1 = 28.8% above fair for three places, but for the two places paid it is 2.60 / 3.068 - 1 = 15.3% below.
- Betting after a late scratching with a bookmaker that counts the dogs when you bet: two places, while the tote on the same race still pays three.
Risk: Betting involves risk. The right place terms change what a placing pays, not whether the dog places. See responsible gambling for limits and support.
Comparing greyhound prices across bookmakers
On the odds comparison board, the Terminal sets out 40+ bookmakers across racing and sports in columns, picks out the best available price on each runner and puts Betfair back and lay alongside, though some bookmakers skip some greyhound meetings. The board refreshes in cycles, so the price you see may already have moved at the bookmaker: check it there before you bet.
A free account opens a limited view of the Terminal with live odds. Betfair is a trade mark of its owner, and B337 is not affiliated with it.
Risk: Betting involves risk. A longer price raises what a winning bet pays, not how often it wins, and there is no guarantee of profit. See responsible gambling for limits and support.