Many horse racing tracks have a station where spectators can place wagers on the outcome of the race. Horse race betting is a form of parimutuel gambling, where the gamblers' money is pooled and distributed proportionally among the winners, after the track takes its cut from the pool. Typically, the track takes a cut of 10%-15% from the pool. The track's toteboard gives real-time updates of how much money is currently bet on each outcome. Some horse racing gambling terms and procedures are explained below the calculator.

Toteboard Odds and Payout Calculator

How Parimutuel Horse Racing Betting Works

Suppose there is a race among three horses and $100 is bet on Horse A winning, $300 is bet on Horse B winning, and $500 is bet on Horse C winning. The total pool is $900.

To get the odds: $85,000 / $42,500 – $1 = $1.00 or 1 to 1 odds. To get the payout per dollar (or decimal odds) $85,000 / $42,500 = $2.00; Your $2 bet will pay back a total of $4.00; You made a profit of $2.00 on a $2.00 bet. For easy math, we used round numbers. But in the real world, this does not always happen. Number of Bets in Parlay Fair Payout (-110 Odds) Fractional Odds Fair Payout on a $10 Bet Implied Win Probability; 2 Team Parlay: 3.64: 2.64/1: $36.45: 27.4%.

Now suppose the track's takeout is 15%. This means the total pool of wagers is actually ($900)(0.85) = $765. To determine the odds for each outcome, subtract the amount wagered on an outcome from the total pool, then divided by the amount wagered. Using the numbers in this example we have:
Horse A odds: (765-100)/100 = 6.65

Odds Payout Calculator

Horse B odds: (765-300)/300 = 1.55
Horse C odds: (765-500)/500 = 0.53
These odds do not represent the probability of a particular horse winning, but the payout ratio for a win wager. For instance, if you bet $1 on Horse B and he wins, then you will make a profit of ($1)(1.55) = $1.55 from that wager. When you cash in your ticket, you will receive $2.55. ($1.55 plus the original $1 you bet.)

100 To 1 Odds Payout

Some Considerations: Because new players are constantly coming up to the counter to make their bets, the odds on the toteboard are constantly changing. Also, most tracks require a minimum $2 bid. Another thing to keep in mind is that it is possible for the odds to be less than 0.2, but most tracks will payout a minimum of 0.2 on the dollar. This means if you make a win wager of $2, your payout will always be least $2.40. ($0.40 plus the $2 you originally bet.)

Breakage

Tracks to do not give you the exact odds; they round down

8 5 Odds Payout

to either the nearest 0.05 or 0.1 (nickel or dime). This is called the breakage. Most tracks use a dime breakage system.
If you look at the example above, we gave exact odds. However, if we round them all down to the nearest tenth, we get instead:
Horse A odds: 6.6
Horse B odds: 1.5
Horse C odds: 0.5
This means that a $1 win wager on Horse B only pays $2.50, not $2.55.

300 To 1 Odds Payout Calculator Excel

The effects of breakage are unpredictable since the toteboard is always changing. For every dollar bet, dime breakage takes off at most 9 cents. Nickel breakage takes off at most 4 cents per dollar bet.

Another Way to Display Odds

Instead of showing the odds as decimals such as 1.5 and 0.5, the track may show them as ratios, such as 3 to 2 and 1 to 2. The table below shows the payout per $2 bet on an outcome with a given odds ratio.

Odds	Payout on $2	Odds	Payout on $2
1-5	$2.40	3-1	$8.00
2-5	$2.80	7-2	$9.00
1-2	$3.00	4-1	$10.00
3-5	$3.20	9-2	$11.00
4-5	$3.60	5-1	$12.00
1-1	$4.00	6-1	$14.00
6-5	$4.40	7-1	$16.00
7-5	$4.80	8-1	$18.00
3-2	$5.00	9-1	$20.00
8-5	$5.20	10-1	$22.00
9-5	$5.60	15-1	$32.00
2-1	$6.00	20-1	$42.00
5-2	$7.00	30-1	$62.00

© Had2Know 2010

A parlay is a single bet that links together two or more individual wagers for a high payout. A 2 team parlay might pay 13/5, a three team parlay might pay 6/1, a four team parlay might pay 10/1, and so forth with the payouts getting higher with more teams or totals selected. For a single bet, 2 to 8 teams or totals can be selected.

In order for the parlay bet to win, every one of the wagers must win or push (tie). If any of the selections lose, your wager loses, regardless of the outcome or cancellation of the other games. If one or more selections is a tie, postponed, incomplete, cancelled or rescheduled for another day, then the wager reverts to the next lowest number. For example, if you place a 5 team parlay and have 4 winners and a tie, your wager pays out as a 4 team parlay. If you place a 2 team parlay and one team wins and one ties, the wager becomes a straight bet.

How To Figure Payout On Odds

The resulting wager will have the same risk amount with the win being calculated to reflect the odds of the remaining team (Example: On a two team $100 parlay with team A +110 and team B -110 if A ties and B wins the resulting wager will be a straight play on B risking $100 to win $91).