A quaddie is a tote bet on the winners of four nominated races at one meeting. You choose one or more runners in each race, called a leg, and the ticket normally pays only if one of your runners wins every leg. The cost is the runners in each leg multiplied: 2, 3, 4 and 4 runners make 2 x 3 x 4 x 4 = 96 combinations. That is $96 at a full $1 a combination, or less at flexi.
Quaddie is short for quadrella. Racing NSW's reference manual, last updated March 2025, says its races are usually the last four of the day, with an early quaddie on the four races before them. The dividend comes from the operator's pool of quaddie bets on those four races, so nobody knows it when they buy a ticket. Horse racing betting sets this bet beside the others on a race day.
How a quaddie works, leg by leg
The Tabcorp betting rules Racing and Wagering Western Australia adopted, as gazetted on 3 August 2010, define a quaddie as a bet on four events at the same meeting (rule 3.7(l)). The ticket is a bet that one combination of four selections fills first place in each race. A combination is one runner from each leg, so every runner you add is paired with every runner in the other three legs. With illustrative selections:
| Leg | Race on the card | Your runners | Runners in the leg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Race 6 | 4 and 9 | 2 |
| 2 | Race 7 | 2, 3 and 7 | 3 |
| 3 | Race 8 | 5, 8, 10 and 11 | 4 |
| 4 | Race 9 | 1, 6, 12 and 13 | 4 |
combinations = 2 x 3 x 4 x 4 = 96
Say Runner 4 wins Race 6, Runner 7 wins Race 7, Runner 8 wins Race 8 and Runner 12 wins Race 9. Then one of your 96 combinations, 4-7-8-12, is the winner and the other 95 lose. A ticket holds only one winning combination unless a leg ends in a dead heat or is abandoned. Adding a runner adds a way to land the ticket, and it multiplies what the ticket costs.
You also choose every leg before the first one starts. Under rule 5.1, betting on a race closes as it starts, so you cannot buy a ticket once the first leg is running, and you cannot swap a later leg after watching an earlier one.
Note: The rule numbers on this page come from the tote rules as gazetted in 2010. Tabcorp has moved its tote pools to a single national pool (reported from October 2026), so check your operator's current quaddie rules before you rely on a detail.
What a quaddie costs, at full units and at flexi
At full units, a ticket costs its number of combinations times $1, the amount dividends are quoted per. Flexi lets you pay less: a flexi bet stakes a percentage of the unit on each combination, and a winning flexi ticket collects that percentage of the dividend.
flexi % = outlay / combinations x 100 = $24 / 96 x 100 = 25%
With an illustrative dividend of $1,348.80 per $1, the same 96-combination ticket returns:
| Outlay | Flexi | Return if the ticket lands |
|---|---|---|
| $96 | 100% | $1,348.80 |
| $48 | 50% | $1,348.80 x 0.50 = $674.40 |
| $24 | 25% | $1,348.80 x 0.25 = $337.20 |
| $9.60 | 10% | $1,348.80 x 0.10 = $134.88 |
Every row lands in exactly the same races; only the share of the dividend changes. The 2010 rules let a flexi bet go as low as 1c a combination, or a higher minimum the operator sets (rule 3.5(a)), so under those rules this ticket costs at least 96 x $0.01 = $0.96. Flexi betting covers rounding and minimums, and the quaddie calculator counts the combinations and the flexi for any ticket.
One more runner changes the whole ticket. A third runner in leg 1 makes it 3 x 3 x 4 x 4 = 144 combinations, so the same $24 falls to 24 / 144 x 100 = 16.67%. The $1,348.80 dividend would then return $1,348.80 x 24 / 144 = $224.80 instead of $337.20.
Risk: Betting involves risk. Flexi lowers the outlay, not the odds against the ticket: a ticket at 10% lands in the same races as one at 100%, and it misses whenever any one of its four legs does. See responsible gambling for limits and support.
How the dividend is decided
Every quaddie bet the operator takes on those four races goes into its pool. The operator then takes its commission, and what is left, plus any jackpot carried in, forms the dividend pool (rule 13.6), which is shared among the winning units once the last leg is official. The dividend is quoted per $1 and includes the stake.
Who else holds your winning combination decides how big that share is. Favourites sit on many tickets, so a combination of favourites is split many ways, while a longer-priced winner in any leg knocks out most tickets and leaves the pool to a few. With illustrative dividends on the $24 ticket at 25%:
| Result | Dividend per $1 | Your return at 25% |
|---|---|---|
| Favourites win all four legs | $68.20 | $68.20 x 0.25 = $17.05 |
| Longer-priced runners win legs 2 and 3 | $1,348.80 | $1,348.80 x 0.25 = $337.20 |
In the first row the ticket lands and still returns $24 - $17.05 = $6.95 less than it cost.
Dead heats and abandoned legs
A dead heat in a leg creates two or more winning combinations. Under the 2010 rules the pool is then split into equal parts, one for each winning combination, and a part nobody backed goes to the jackpot for a later pool (rule 12.6(a)). If dead heats would make more than eight winning combinations, that leg and any later leg are ignored when the dividend is worked out (rule 12.6(b)).
An abandoned leg, or one declared a no race, counts every runner in it as a winner, and a quaddie whose four legs are all abandoned is refunded (rule 10.6). Dead heat rules covers how ties settle in other bets.
Scratchings and the favourite substitute
A scratched runner in a quaddie is not refunded. Under rules 9.2(a) and 9.3 of the 2010 rules, the money on it moves to a substitute. That is the race's most-backed runner in the operator's win pool once its betting has closed, and a tie goes to the lower list number.
Racing NSW's guide to betting (checked October 2026) calls the substitute the favourite in win betting, announced by the race caller or shown on screens at the track. It also says a ticket with a scratched runner can be cancelled up to the start of the first leg.
Your ticket keeps its 96 combinations and its 25%, but one pick in that leg is now the tote favourite. If it was already on your ticket, every combination through it carries twice the amount. Exotic scratching rules works a ticket through a scratching, and bookmakers that take the bet on their own terms can settle one differently.
Jackpots when no ticket lands
Some days no ticket holds the winning combination. The 2010 rules give the operator two ways to deal with that pool:
- Carry it forward as a jackpot, added to a later pool of the same type. The operator can add it to a quaddie at any meeting in the same racing code, and says where it goes at least 72 hours ahead (rule 13.2).
- Pay it to the next-best tickets, in a set order (rule 13.2.3). First come tickets with the winners of the first three legs and the second placegetter in the last leg, then the third placegetter, then any runner in the last leg. Next come the winners of the first two legs with the second placegetter in leg 3 and any runner in leg 4, then the same with the third placegetter in leg 3. If no ticket holds any of those, the pool is refunded.
A jackpot adds money to a pool without adding tickets. With illustrative figures, a dividend pool of $150,000 shared by 400 winning units pays $150,000 / 400 = $375 per $1. With a $50,000 jackpot carried in, the same 400 units share $200,000, or $500 per $1. A jackpot can also draw extra bets into the pool, which adds winning units to share it.
Risk: Betting involves risk. A jackpot raises what a winning ticket can collect, not the chance of holding one, and a pool can carry forward more than once before any ticket lands it. See responsible gambling for limits and support.
Main quaddie, early quaddie and Big 6
Three tote bets ask for a run of winners, and the cost rule is the same for each: multiply the runners in every leg. Racing NSW's reference manual describes where each one sits:
| Main quaddie | Early quaddie | Big 6 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Races | Four nominated races at one meeting, usually the last four | The four races before the main one | Six nominated races, at one meeting or across meetings |
| Combinations with 3 runners a leg | 3 x 3 x 3 x 3 = 81 | 81 | 3 x 3 x 3 x 3 x 3 x 3 = 729 |
| Flexi on a $30 outlay | 30 / 81 x 100 = 37.0% | 37.0% | 30 / 729 x 100 = 4.1% |
| Pool | Its own | Its own, separate from the main one's | Its own, with a second dividend for five winners |
The main and early versions are separate bets with separate pools, so landing one says nothing about the other. The Big 6 needs two more winners, which is why three runners a leg cost nine times as much. Under the 2010 rules its pool pays 90% to tickets with all six winners and 10% to tickets with the first five winners and a loser in the sixth leg (rule 15.1).
The early quaddie and Big 6 entries cover each bet, and quaddie strategy covers how wide to make each leg.
Mistakes that make a ticket dearer than it looks
- Adding the runners instead of multiplying them. The ticket above has 2 + 3 + 4 + 4 = 13 runners but 96 combinations, so at full units it costs $96, not $13.
- Adding a runner and keeping the outlay. One more runner in leg 1 cuts the flexi from 25% to 16.67%, so the same winning result pays $337.20 - $224.80 = $112.40 less.
- Counting a landed ticket as a winning bet. When favourites won every leg, the $24 ticket collected $17.05.
- Expecting a refund when a pick is scratched. The money moves to the substitute and stays in the pool.
- Using four legs to back one opinion. If your view is about one race, a win bet on that runner does the job without three more legs that can each end the ticket.
Skip the bet when the legs you have no view on would need so many runners that the flexi drops to a few per cent, or below the operator's minimum. A ticket spread across most of four fields lands more often, but it holds only a sliver of each dividend it collects.
Pricing the legs before you buy a ticket
Before deciding how many runners a leg needs, it helps to see how open each race is. The Terminal shows prices from 40+ bookmakers across racing and sports, with Betfair back and lay beside them, and its meeting tabs move between the races at one track, so you can read each leg's win market in turn. A tote dividend cannot be compared in advance, because it does not exist until it is declared.
Prices on the Terminal are read on a repeating cycle, so confirm a price in your bookmaker account 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 ticket built from the market's view of each race still needs four winners in a row, and any one leg can end it. See responsible gambling for limits and support.