Horse racing betting odds express the relationship between risk and reward. To put it simply, the odds tell you how much you stand to win with any wager.

Understanding how horse racing betting odds work is the first step in getting started as a bettor. This page will dive into the topic in great detail, beginning with a simple guide to interpreting horse racing odds and continuing with more information bettors need to wager intelligently.

Learning how to read the odds in horse racing betting isn’t as difficult as it may seem. Familiarity with fractions helps, but you do not need to be a mathematician to understand how the odds on horse races function.

Eventually, with some practice, it becomes second nature to look at a list of wagers and understand how to read horse racing odds.

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How Horse Racing Betting Odds Work

Horse racing betting odds are essentially fractions. When a horse is priced at 10-1, one can read that as 10/1. Similarly, when a horse is priced at 3-5, one can read that as 3/5.

The “fraction” represents the relationship between how much you stand to win relative to how much you must risk. With horse racing odds, the first number (the numerator) shows how many units you stand to win, and the second number (the denominator) shows how many units you must risk to win that much.

For example:

  • 10-1 odds: You will win 10 units for every 1 unit wagered
  • 7-2 odds: You will win 7 units for every 2 units wagered
  • 1-5 odds: You will win 1 unit for every 5 units wagered

If the first number is larger than the second number, the net profit of your horse racing bets will be larger than the amount wagered.

If the second number is larger, you’re betting on the “odds-on favorite,” and your return will be smaller than the amount risked. This occurs when you bet on heavy public favorites – you stand to win less because everyone is betting on the same horse. If the odds-on favorite wins, the betting pool will be split among many winning tickets, netting everyone a smaller portion of the pool.

Note: Many horse racing betting sites and tracks display the odds as fractions. Also, Racebooks often drop the 1 in odds that represent whole numbers. For example, your horse racing betting site may display 10 or 20 next to horse names to represent 10-1 and 20-1, respectively.

Horse Racing Odds Do Not Equal Likelihood of Winning

Some people may be tempted to interpret horse racing betting odds as an expression of a horse’s likelihood to win a race, but that is not entirely accurate. Although there is usually some correlation between a horse’s betting odds and its skill relative to the other runners, the odds are more accurately interpreted as an expression of public sentiment.

Parimutuel horse racing betting odds fluctuate based on public sentiment. The more money that comes in on a horse, the lower that horse’s odds fall. Similarly, horses with few backers pay more because the total wagering pool will be split among fewer winning tickets.

Public sentiment is often a close approximation of each horse’s relative strength, but do not be fooled into reading horse racing odds as any one runner’s likelihood of winning. The key to successful horse racing betting is learning how to spot the gaps between public sentiment and reality.

Common Horse Racing Betting Payouts

For quick reference, the following payouts show how much a $1 bet would return at various odds commonly seen in horse racing.

Many tracks instituted a minimum bet of $2 for most types of wagers in the past, but a $1 minimum (and even less for some exotics) is quite common today. Multiply the amounts below by two to see the return for a $2 wager, by three for the return on a $3 wager, and so on.

The following figures include the return of the original wager.

Odds$1 Payout
1-9$1.10
1-5$1.20
2-5$1.40
1-2$1.50
3-5$1.60
1-1$2.00
6-5$2.20
7-5$2.40
3-2$2.50
8-5$2.60
9-5$2.80
2-1$3.00
5-2$3.50
3-1$4.00
7-2$4.50
4-1$5.00
9-2$5.50
5-1$6.00
10-1$11.00
20-1$21.00
40-1$41.00

Calculating Horse Racing Payout Odds

To determine the potential winnings of any bet, multiply your intended wager by the fraction represented by the odds. The number you get represents the net profit you will see if your bet is a winner.

Horse racing odds are easy to use when they represent whole numbers, such as:

  • 5-1
  • 10-1
  • 30-1

All you have to do is multiply your bet by the whole number to find your net profit. For example, a $2 wager at odds of 30/1 would return $60 in profits ($2 x 30/1). Add in the return of your original stake, and the return would be $62. Likewise, a $2 bet placed at 10/1 would return $20 plus your initial wager.

It becomes slightly more complicated when the odds aren’t nice and simple whole numbers. For example, horse racing odds of 3-4 and 7-5 can be a little tricky.

If you’re not good at quickly multiplying fractions in your head, the easiest way to figure out what you stand to win is to multiply your intended bet amount by the first number and divide the answer to that by the second number.

The formula looks like this:

  • (your bet x first number) / second number = your net profit

Let’s look at how you would calculate a $10 bet on a 4-5 runner:

  • ($10 x 4) / 5 = $8

Your total profit would be $8. Add back your original wager for a total return of $18.

Another way to understand racebook and ADW payout odds is that they show you how much money you stand to win relative to how much you have to risk to win that much.

For example, consider horse betting odds of 7-2. These odds are telling you that you stand to win $7 for every $2 you wager. Therefore, a $2 bet would net you $7 in profits for a total return of $9.

Horse Racing Morning Line Odds

The morning line odds in horse racing serve as the starting point for betting on every race. A track oddsmaker sets the morning line odds for every race to reflect how he believes the public will bet.

After the morning line odds go live, racing fans can view the upcoming race and start to get an idea of which horses will likely emerge as the betting favorites and which will be the longshots.

The morning line odds are usually reflective of the relative strengths of each horse, but the oddsmaker is not handicapping the race. The oddsmaker’s goal is to accurately gauge public sentiment to set the line and provide bettors an idea of what to expect once betting opens.

As Ed Burgart, the official morning line maker at Los Alamitos Race Course, once explained:

The morning line odds don’t reflect my preferred selections in a race. My goal as the morning line maker is to predict how the public will wager on a particular race.

A good oddsmaker can glance at past performances and determine on which horses the majority of racing fans will wager the most or least amount of money. Usually, horses with recent high speed indexes and consistent in-the-money finishes will receive much wagering attention. Local horses are usually better supported than horses coming in from other tracks.

Decimal Horse Racing Odds

In some parts of the world, horse racing wagers are displayed in the decimal odds format. Decimal horse racing betting odds are even easier to read than fractional odds.

The decimal format displays exactly how much money you stand to win in relation to your wager. Multiply your intended stake by the decimal and the result will tell you the total payout including the return of your original wager.

Even money odds in the decimal format are displayed as 2.0. In this case, a successful $100 wager would return $200 (your winnings plus your original bet). Likewise, odds of 3.0 would return $300. If the odds are less than 2.0, it means you’re looking at a big favorite.

For example, betting odds of 1.5 would return $150 ($50 in net profit plus your original wager).

The one thing you have to be careful about with decimal odds is making sure you don’t forget that the calculated payout includes the return of your original wager.

If you’re accustomed to the fractional wagering odds format, it’s easy to forget. Fractional and decimal odds do not perfectly translate.

Remember – fractional horse odds of 5/1 are not the same as decimal horse odds of 5.0.

Odds of 5/1 would result in you being paid $500 in net profits (total return including your original wager would be $600). Odds of 5.0 would result in you being paid $500 in total (this includes your original wager).

Horse Racing Odds FAQ

When betting on horses, the first number represents the money you will win. The second number shows the amount that you must wager to receive the amount of the first number. For example, if a horse lists at 5/1, the bettor gets $5 for every $1 placed on the horse.

When the first number of a horse’s odds is lower than the second, it is an odds-on favorite. Therefore, the bettor wins less money than wagered. For example, if a horse shows at 1-2, this means that for every $2 wagered, the bet wins $1 if it hits. 

When the first number in listed horse racing odds is higher than the second one, the bet will pay more than the amount wagered if it hits. For example, in 2/1 odds, the bet pays $2 for every $1 wagered. 

If it is in a pari-mutuel pool, the odds may change depending on the final amount of money bet into the pool. Winning bets are divided by the amount wagered on winning tickets. The exact payout is unknown until betting closes. In fixed-odds races, the odds are booked by the house and do not change. Pari-mutuel odds are more common than fixed ones.