A running double is one tote bet on two consecutive races at the same meeting, and it normally pays only if a runner you picked wins each race. You can take one or more runners in each leg. A daily double is the same bet on two races the operator nominates at the meeting, which do not have to run back to back.
Those are the definitions in the Tabcorp betting rules Racing and Wagering Western Australia adopted, as gazetted on 3 August 2010 (rules 3.7(o) and 3.7(b)). Each double pays a dividend from its own pool after the second leg. Racing NSW's reference manual, last updated March 2025, uses races 2 and 3 as its example of a running double and says the daily double is usually on the third-last and last races of the day.
Running double vs daily double, side by side
The two bets work the same way and differ only in which races they cover. The 2010 rules also define a feature double, with one rule that sets it apart:
| Running double | Daily double | Feature double | |
|---|---|---|---|
| The two races | Consecutive races at one meeting | Two races the operator nominates at one meeting | Two races at different meetings |
| Where on the card | Any consecutive pair the operator offers; races 2 and 3 in Racing NSW's example | Usually the third-last and last races, says Racing NSW's manual | Set by the operator |
| If your runner is scratched | The money moves to a substitute | The money moves to a substitute | The money is forfeited |
| What it pays | A dividend from the running double pool | A dividend from the daily double pool | A dividend from its own pool |
Which races carry a double is the operator's choice: the 2010 rules let it decide which events and meetings it takes bets on (rule 3.3(a)). Either way, both legs are chosen before the first starts. A bet accepted after an event has started is void (rule 5.4), so you cannot pick your second-leg runner after watching the first race. Doubles have their own row in the bet table on horse racing betting.
What a double costs: leg 1 x leg 2
A double covers every pairing of your leg 1 runners with your leg 2 runners:
combinations = runners in leg 1 x runners in leg 2
At a full $1 unit, the cost in dollars is the number of combinations:
| Runners in leg 1 | Runners in leg 2 | Combinations | Cost at $1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 1 x 1 = 1 | $1 |
| 1 | 4 | 1 x 4 = 4 | $4 |
| 2 | 3 | 2 x 3 = 6 | $6 |
| 3 | 4 | 3 x 4 = 12 | $12 |
| 4 | 5 | 4 x 5 = 20 | $20 |
| 5 | 6 | 5 x 6 = 30 | $30 |
One runner alone in a leg keeps the double cheap and rests the bet on that runner. Two legs also keep a double affordable: five runners in each leg is 25 combinations, while five in each leg of a quaddie is 625. The quaddie calculator counts a double too, with the number of legs set to two.
A flexi double, worked
Flexi lets you stake a share of the full cost and collect the same share of the dividend:
flexi % = outlay / combinations x 100
Racing NSW's reference manual lists doubles among the bets you can take at flexi. The 2010 rules name the trifecta, first four, quaddie and Big 6 and leave other pools to the operator (rule 3.5(b)), so check that your tote offers flexi on doubles. With illustrative runners and dividends, take Runners 2, 5 and 8 in leg 1 and Runners 1, 3, 6 and 9 in leg 2:
- combinations = 3 x 4 = 12, so the full ticket costs $12
- outlay $9, so flexi = 9 / 12 x 100 = 75%
| Result | Double dividend per $1 | Return at 75% | Against the $9 outlay |
|---|---|---|---|
| A longer-priced runner wins leg 2 | $31.40 | $31.40 x 0.75 = $23.55 | $14.55 ahead |
| Both favourites win | $5.80 | $5.80 x 0.75 = $4.35 | $4.65 behind |
| Either leg goes to a runner you left out | No dividend | $0 | $9 behind |
The flexi ticket lands in the same races as the full $12 ticket and collects three quarters of each dividend. The second row shows a double can land and still lose money: when two favourites win, the pool is shared among the many tickets that held them.
Risk: Betting involves risk. A cheaper flexi ticket does not raise its chance of landing, and a double that lands on two favourites can return less than it cost. See responsible gambling for limits and support.
A double against an all up on the same two runners
An all up bet rolls the return from one leg onto the next. The 2010 rules call it a parlay: the dividend from one race is re-invested on your runners in later races at the same meeting, up to five of them. You give those instructions when you bet, and it is an all up when every leg has to come in (rules 1.1 and 11.2).
A bookmaker's fixed-odds version is a racing multi, priced when the bet is accepted.
With $10 on Runner 6 in Race 3 and Runner 2 in Race 4, and illustrative prices and dividends:
| Bet | How it pays | Return if both win |
|---|---|---|
| Tote all up, win dividends $3.60 and $4.90 | $10 x 3.60 = $36.00, then $36.00 x 4.90 | $176.40 |
| Fixed-odds multi at $3.40 and $5.00 | $10 x 3.40 x 5.00 | $170.00 |
| Running double, dividend $19.30 | $10 x 19.30 | $193.00 |
| Running double, dividend $15.20 | $10 x 15.20 | $152.00 |
The all up pays the two win dividends multiplied, 3.60 x 4.90 = 17.64 per $1. The double pays its own dividend from a separate pool, set by how double punters spread their money across every pairing. It can finish above 17.64, as in the third row, or below it, as in the fourth, and you learn which only after the second race. The bets also differ in the detail:
| Running or daily double | Tote all up | Fixed-odds multi | |
|---|---|---|---|
| When the price is known | After the second race | Each leg's dividend after its race | When the bet is accepted |
| What comes out of it | Commission, once, from the double pool | Commission in each win pool your money passes through | The margin in each leg's price |
| Your runner is scratched | The money moves to the substitute | The money carries on to your next leg, or is paid out after the last (rule 11.4) | The bookmaker's terms decide |
| A dead heat in a leg | The pool is split between the winning combinations (rule 12.4) | The dead-heat dividend rolls on | The bookmaker's dead heat rule |
Neither tote payout is known when you bet. To see how the two compare at the meetings you bet, set past double dividends beside the two win dividends multiplied.
Risk: Betting involves risk. The double, the all up and the multi all lose when either runner loses, and a double dividend can finish below the all up's on the same winners. See responsible gambling for limits and support.
Scratchings, dead heats and abandoned legs
Doubles have their own settlement rules on the tote, including when a ticket without both winners is paid. Under the 2010 rules:
- A scratched pick moves to a substitute: the leg's most-backed runner in the operator's win pool when betting on that race closes, with a tie broken by the lower list number (rules 9.2(a) and 9.3). Racing NSW's guide to betting, checked in October 2026, describes the substitute as the favourite in win betting. In a feature double the money on a scratched pick is forfeited (rule 9.2(b)).
- A dead heat in either leg divides the pool equally between the backed winning combinations (rule 12.4).
- If one leg is abandoned or declared a no race, every runner in it counts as a winner, and the dividend goes to tickets holding the other leg's winner, or failing those its second placegetter, then its third. With both legs abandoned, every bet is refunded (rule 10.5).
- If no ticket holds both winners, the pool is not jackpotted. It goes to the next-best pairings in a set order (rule 13.9.2). First is the first leg's winner with the second leg's second placegetter, then with its third, then the first leg's second placegetter with the second leg's winner, and so on. With none of those backed, the pool is refunded.
A bookmaker's fixed-odds double runs on its own terms. For NSW on-course bookmakers, the Racing NSW Rules of Betting cover doubles in BR 19 to BR 21A, and they treat a scratched runner differently from the tote. Exotic scratching rules sets the tote and on-course rules side by side.
Note: The tote settlement rules above are the 2010 gazetted text. Tabcorp has moved its tote pools to a single national pool (reported from October 2026), so confirm how your operator settles a double today.
Mistakes with doubles
- Treating the daily double as two races in a row. Only the running double is consecutive by definition; the daily double is whichever two races are nominated, usually the third-last and last, with a race between them.
- Counting runners instead of pairings. Three runners and four runners make 12 combinations, not 7, so a full-unit ticket costs $12.
- Expecting the double to beat the all up. In the example the double could pay $193.00 or $152.00 on the same two winners, against the all up's $176.40, and you find out only after the race.
- Forgetting the feature double rule. Under the 2010 rules a scratched pick there is forfeited, not substituted (rule 9.2(b)).
- Locking in a second leg you have no view on. A double fixes both legs before the first race; if you only like the first runner, a win bet leaves the second race for later.
Checking each leg's prices first
Before choosing runners, or setting a double against a fixed-odds multi, line up both races' win prices. The Terminal shows prices from 40+ bookmakers across racing and sports, with Betfair back and lay alongside them, which gives you the win prices a fixed-odds multi is built from, wherever a bookmaker prices both races. The double's own dividend cannot be lined up in advance, because none exists until it is declared after the second leg.
The Terminal reads prices on a repeating cycle, not tick by tick, so the price in your bookmaker account is the one to confirm. 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 double needs both legs, so its chance is the two leg chances multiplied, and its dividend is unknown until the second race is decided. See responsible gambling for limits and support.