Betting Guides
Each-Way betting
To bet ‘each-way’ essentially means placing two bets in one: the first of these is a ‘to win’ bet, the second is a ‘to place’ bet. If you set your stake as £10, you will pay £20 total as £10 goes ‘to win’, and another £10 goes ‘to place’.
Note that the odds of a placing are around one fifth of the horse’s odds to win, so – if you placed an each-way bet on a horse which was 20/1 and your horse finished second – you could get back odds of around 4/1 depending on the race in question.
Each-way bets give punters an extra insurance, as even if their selection is beaten, if it finishes in the top three, they will still get their money back. Each-way bets can prove to be great value on long-priced selections and are a fun, lower pressure way to enjoy betting on horse races.
Races with lots of runners, like the Grand National, tend to have a wider range of odds available and regularly see phenomenal returns. Noble Yeats, the winner of last year’s Grand National, started priced 50/1! If you had backed him with an each-way stake of £1, you’d have received a £60 profit.
Bet on the Grand National with William Hill
The Cheltenham Festival, which takes place this year from the 14th-17th March, is another pinnacle of the National Hunt season and usually to sees some generously priced each-way bets landed. William Hill are offering Non-Runner Money Back on both the Grand National and the Cheltenham Festival.
You can bet on all Cheltenham Festival races here.
Different bet types can include each-way bets, for example – Accumulators. Use William Hill’s Bet Calculator to see how your winnings could add up here.
Each-way bets are most commonly seen in relation to horse racing, but they can also be used in other sports such as Football.
Each-way betting rules
The terms of each-way bets on horse racing (the number of places paid out to) can depend on the number of horses running in the race.
| Number of Runners | Minimum each-way places | Fraction of Odds |
|---|---|---|
| 01-Apr | 0 (Win Only) | n/a |
| 05-Jul | 2 | 1/4 |
| 8 or more | 3 | 1/5 |
| 16 or more (handicapped races) | 4 | 1/5 |
If you win your bet, it will usually be paid out after the result of the race has been made official by jockeys ‘weighing out’ and confirming their finishing positions.
How to make an each-way bet
When considering placing an each-way bet, there are a number of factors you should take into account to ensure that your bet is worth placing.
- The odds – is the price long enough to make a decent return at the fraction of the winning odds?
- If the price to win is 40/1, the answer would be yes
- If the price to win was 15/8, then the answer would be no
- The place terms – can your selection realistically finish within the maximum number of places included in the each-way bet?
- How many of the runners are likely to beat your selection?
- Are you happy to pay the double stake required for an each-way bet?
- If not, you could think about placing a ‘Without’ bet instead, by which you can usually back your selection ‘to win’ while the result of the race’s favourite is discounted. For example, if you want to place a bet on Horse A but are certain that Horse B will win the race, you may be able to bet ‘Without’ Horse B, thereby essentially disqualifying it from your bet. If Horse A then finishes second, you win your bet. Note that odds in bets like these are adjusted accordingly and the ‘without’ price will not be the same as in the normal market.
How to work out an each-way bet
Here is an example of how to work out an each-way bet.
You want to place an each-way bet on Love Envoi in the 2023 Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival. Her odds are 33/1 and there are 14 runners in the race which is not a handicap, which means that 1st, 2nd and 3rd places will be paid out at one fifth of the odds.
You set a stake of £1 and select the ‘each-way’ option, which then doubles your stake, putting £1 to win and £1 to place.
If Love Envoi wins the Champion Hurdle, you will get back £33 from the ‘to win’ half of your bet, and £6.60 back from the ‘to place’ half of your bet, which would be £39.60 altogether.
If Love Envoi places second or third, you will get back £6.60 and still be in profit from your total £2 stake.
You can use William Hill’s Bet Calculator to work out your bets.
Check out all William Hill’s latest horse racing betting promotions
