Virtual Horse Racing Bet Types
Each virtual horse race has 11 markets. Here is when each one pays, with a worked example and the odds you can expect.
Quick comparison
The table puts all virtual horse racing bets side by side, from the safest to the longest shots.
| Bet | Wins when | Chance for a random pick | Median odds | RTP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1st | 12.5% | 8.74 | 92% |
| Place | 1st or 2nd | 25% | 4.14 | 92% |
| Show | top 3 | 37.5% | 2.63 | 92% |
| Lay | not 1st | 87.5% | 1.08 | 92% |
| Forecast | 1st and 2nd, exact order | 1.8% | 70.6 | 88% |
| Quinella | 1st and 2nd, any order | 3.6% | 35.1 | 88% |
| Tricast | top 3, exact order | 0.3% | 485 | 85% |
| Trio | top 3, any order | 1.8% | 79.1 | 85% |
| Odd/Even, Low/High | winner's number | about 50% | 1.85 | 93% |
| Top-3 total | sum of top-3 numbers vs line | about 50% | 1.85 | 93% |
"Chance for a random pick" assumes you choose a selection at random. Backing favourites raises your hit rate and lowers your odds. The RTP stays the same either way. Median odds come from 100,000 simulated races.
Win
Your horse must finish first. It is the simplest virtual horse racing bet and the one most players start with.
Example: 10 on No. 4 at 3.40. No. 4 wins and you get 34.00 back, a profit of 24.00. Any other winner and the stake is lost.
Place (top 2)
Your horse must finish first or second. The odds are lower than a win bet, and a random pick lands twice as often.
Example: 10 on No. 6 to place at 2.20. No. 6 runs second and you get 22.00 back.
Show (top 3)
Your horse must finish first, second or third. Show has the highest hit rate of the horse bets after Lay. Its odds stop at 10.00.
Example: 20 on No. 8 to show at 3.10. No. 8 finishes third and you get 62.00 back.
Each Way
In British racing an each-way bet means a win bet plus a place bet paid at a fraction of the win odds. Here the E/W button adds two separate bets of the same stake, Win and Show, each at its own price.
Example: E/W 10 on No. 2 with Win at 6.00 and Show at 2.10 costs 20. If No. 2 wins, both bets pay: 60.00 + 21.00 = 81.00. If it runs third, only Show pays: 21.00. Fourth or worse pays nothing.
Lay (not to win)
A lay bet backs a horse to lose. It pays if any other horse wins. The game only offers a lay price of 1.02 or more, so you will usually see it on the stronger half of the field.
Example: 50 on Lay No. 1 at 1.35. Any winner except No. 1 returns 67.50.
Forecast
Name the first two home in the exact order. In the forecast grid, the row is the winner and the column is the runner-up. Each virtual horse race has 56 forecast combinations.
Example: 5 on the forecast 3 → 7 at 42.00. No. 3 wins, No. 7 runs second and you get 210.00 back.
Quinella
The same two horses in the first two places, in either order. A quinella costs one stake and pays about half the forecast price. British betting shops call the two-stake version a reverse or dual forecast. Here it is one bet with its own odds.
Example: 5 on the quinella 3 + 7 at 20.50. The result 7-3 pays 102.50, and so does 3-7.
Tricast
Name the first three home in the exact order. A race has 336 tricast combinations, so a random pick wins about once in 336 races. The "most likely combinations" list in the game shows the 12 shortest prices. Tricast odds stop at 5,000.
Example: 2 on the tricast 1 → 5 → 3 at 310. The result 1-5-3 returns 620.00.
Trio
Name the first three home in any order. There are 56 trio combinations per race. A trio works like a combination tricast on one stake.
Example: 5 on the trio 1 + 3 + 5 at 46.00. Any result that starts with those three horses, such as 5-1-3, returns 230.00.
Winner number: odd/even and low/high
These bets look at the winner's saddlecloth number. Odd means 1, 3, 5 or 7. Low means 1 to 4. Prices follow the strength of the horses in each group, so they move from race to race. Most sit near 1.85, and we have seen them range from 1.08 to 6.67.
Example: 10 on Even at 1.92. No. 6 wins and you get 19.20 back.
Top-3 total over/under
Add up the numbers of the first three finishers. The line is set for each race so both sides sit close to 50%, usually at 13.5.
Example: 10 on Over 13.5 at 1.88. The result 6-2-8 adds up to 16, so Over wins and you get 18.80 back.
Which virtual horse racing bet suits you?
- Frequent small wins: Show, Lay and the number bets.
- A middle path: Win, Place and Quinella.
- A shot at a big payout: Forecast, Trio and Tricast. Expect long losing runs. In our simulation, 41% of players who bet 5 a race on tricasts used up 1,000 credits within 300 races.
Every bet type returns about its RTP over time. Exotic bets carry a bigger margin, 85% to 88% RTP against 92% to 93% for single-horse and number bets. The reasons are on the odds and RTP page. To see how a result gets drawn, read how virtual horse racing works, then try a race.