Every each‑way bet has place terms: how many places pay, and what fraction of the win odds they pay. Those two numbers decide the whole place part.
An each‑way bet is two bets for the same stake. A win bet, and a place bet. A £5 each‑way bet costs £10.
The win bet pays at the price you took. The place bet does not. It pays a fraction of that price, and only if your horse finishes inside a set number of places.
Terms written as 3pl 1/5 mean three places paid, at one fifth of the win odds.
Terms are set by the size of the field and whether the race is a handicap. Not by the horse.
| Race | Places paid | Place part pays |
|---|---|---|
| 2 to 4 runners | Win only | No place part |
| 5 to 7 runners | 2 places | 1/4 |
| 8+ runners, non‑handicap | 3 places | 1/5 |
| 8 to 11 runners, handicap | 3 places | 1/5 |
| 12 to 15 runners, handicap | 3 places | 1/4 |
| 16+ runners, handicap | 4 places | 1/4 |
These are the usual terms. On big races bookmakers compete by paying more places, usually at a smaller fraction: three at 1/4 becomes four at 1/5. That is a trade, not a free upgrade. See extra place races.
Take a horse at 12/1. You back it £5 each way, so £10 in total. It finishes third, in the places, but does not win.
The place part pays 3/1. It returns £20. You staked £10, so you are £10 up.
The place part pays 12/5. It returns £17. You staked £10, so you are £7 up.
Same horse, same finish, same stake. Three pounds between them.
The gap widens with the price. At 4/1 the difference is about a pound. At 33/1 on a £5 place part it is over eight.
Look at the table again. The fraction depends on the number of runners. It does not depend on the horse.
So the place part is not a price anyone set for that animal. It is the win price divided by four or five, whatever that lands on.
A horse that rarely wins but often places is underpriced to win and overpaid to place. That gap is the bet.
The method built on it: each‑way no lay.
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