The Thrill of Winning

A Guide to Betting

Fractional and Decimal Betting

Two common types of betting are fractional (e.g. 4/1) and decimal (4.00), with most bookmakers that you will find at Chelmsford City Racecourse opting for fractional.

Fractional betting allows you to calculate how much you will win (the number on the left, 4), in addition to your stake (the number on the right, 1).

For every £1 you bet, you will win £4 (£5 in total), in this scenario creating a 20% chance of winning. A bet styled this way with the higher number first is spoken as ‘four-to-one’
For every £1 you bet, you will win £1 (£2 in total), in this scenario creating a 50% chance winning. A bet styled with both numbers the same is referred to as ‘evens’
For every £4 you bet, you will win £1 (£5 in total), in this scenario creating an 80% chance of winning. A bet styled with the lower number first e.g. 1/4 is referred to as ‘odds on’

Odds displayed in numeric form e.g. 4.00 are decimal odds. Decimal betting allows you to calculate how much you will win (the odd stated), in addition to your stake.

For example, if the odds you bet are 5.00 (4/1 in fractional odds), a £1 bet would return £4 as well as your initial stake (£5 in total)

For every £1 you bet on ‘5.00,’ you will win £4 (£5 in total), in this scenario creating a 20% chance winning
For every £1 you bet on 2.00, you will win £1 (£2 in total), in this scenario creating a 50% chance winning
For every £4 you bet on 1.25, you will win £1 (£5 in total), in this scenario creating a 80% chance winning

A Guide to Pools Betting

It just wouldn’t be racing without a bet with the Tote! With pool betting you are not betting against a bookmaker. The total amount of all bets placed go into a “pool”, and how much you win depends on how many other winning tickets there are, just like the National Lottery!

The Tote offers the widest choice of bets ranging from ‘Win’ bet, where you just need to pick the winner of the race to the ‘Jackpot’ bet where you can win life-changing amounts by picking the winner of the first six races at the selected daily meeting.

You can place your bet and collect your winnings at any Tote position around the racecourse, and also look out for our roving courier staff that will be able to take your bet on the go. The minimum bet is £2.

All betting information is displayed on Tote screens around the racecourse including the predicted odds for the next race and results from previous races. Betting guides are available at all Tote positions to help explain the different types of bets that are available.

To place a bet simply tell the Tote staff how much you would like to bet, the type of bet, the horse number(s), the race number and the racecourse you are betting at. For example; “A £10 Tote Win on horse number 9 in race 3 at Chelmsford City please”.

Tote bets available include:

Win – Pick one horse which will win the race
Each Way – Pick one horse which will either win or place (you will win more should the horse win)
Place – Pick one horse which will place in that race
Exacta – Pick two horses which will come in the first and second in the correct order
Trifecta – Pick three horses which will come in the first three in the correct order
Swinger – Pick three horses which will come in the first three in any order
Quadpot – Pick four horses which will place in races 3, 4, 5 and 6 at one meeting
Placepot – Pick six horses which will place in the first 6 races at one meeting
Jackpot – Pick six winners from multiple ‘Jackpot’ race meetings hosted on that day
Scoop6 – Pick six winners from multiple ‘Scoop6’ race meetings that are held on a Fridays and Saturdays