How an each-way bet is settled, step by step
Two equal bets, one set of place terms, and what comes back when a rider wins, places or misses out in a one-day cycling Classic.
Step 1 of 8 · The stake
A £5 each-way bet is two £5 bets, one to win and one to place: £10 in total.
An each-way bet is not one bet with a safety net. It is two separate bets of the same size on the same rider. One backs the rider to win the race; the other backs the rider to finish in one of the paid places. A £5 each-way bet therefore costs £10, and each half is settled on its own.
- the two bets
- £5 win + £5 place
- total staked
- £10
Step 2 of 8 · The place terms
At 8/1 with 1/4 odds for 3 places, the place part is settled at 2/1.
The place half is paid at a fraction of the win odds, for a fixed number of places. Here the rider is 8/1 to win and the terms are 1/4 odds for the first 3 places, so the place bet is settled at 2/1. Bookmakers set these terms race by race and by field size, so they are worth reading on the bet slip.
- win odds
- 8/1 · 9.00
- place terms
- 1/4 odds, 3 places
- place odds
- 2/1 · 3.00
Step 3 of 8 · Outcome: the rider wins
The rider wins: £45 from the win part, £15 from the place part, £60 back.
A winner is also a placed rider, so both halves pay. The win part returns £45: the £5 stake at 8/1 plus the stake itself. The place part returns £15 at 2/1. Together that is £60 back from £10 staked, a profit of £50. Returns on a bet slip always include the stake.
- win part returns
- £45
- place part returns
- £15
- total back
- £60
- profit or loss
- +£50
Step 4 of 8 · Outcome: the rider places
Third place: the win part loses, the place part returns £15 on £10 staked.
When the rider finishes inside the paid places but does not win, the win half is lost and only the place half pays. Third place is inside the first three, so the £5 place bet at 2/1 returns £15. Against the £10 staked across both halves, that leaves a profit of £5.
- the rider's finish
- 3rd
- win part returns
- £0
- place part returns
- £15
- total staked
- £10
- profit or loss
- +£5
Step 5 of 8 · Outcome: outside the places
Fifth, outside the 3 places: both parts lose and the £10 is gone.
Finishing just outside the places counts the same as finishing last. Fifth is outside the first three, so the win half and the place half both lose. Nothing comes back, and the loss is the full £10 that was staked. A close finish earns nothing extra on an each-way bet.
- the rider's finish
- 5th
- place terms
- 1/4 odds, 3 places
- total staked
- £10
- total back
- £0
- profit or loss
- −£10
Step 6 of 8 · Terms vary
Same third place, but at 1/5 odds for 2 places: nothing comes back.
Place terms are not fixed across the market. With 1/5 odds and only 2 places paid, the same third place that returned £15 a moment ago is now outside the places, and both halves lose. The odds of the rider did not change at all. Only the terms did, which is why they belong in any comparison of prices.
- place terms
- 1/5 odds, 2 places
- place odds
- 8/5 · 2.60
- the rider's finish
- 3rd
- total back
- £0
- profit or loss
- −£10
Step 7 of 8 · When placing still loses
A 2/1 rider places at 1/5 odds: the place part returns £7, short of the £10 stake.
At short odds the place half cannot cover the whole bet. A rider at 2/1 with 1/5 odds for 2 places is settled at 2/5 for a place. Second place loses the £5 win half and returns £7 on the place half. The place bet was successful, yet the bet as a whole lost £3.
- win odds
- 2/1 · 3.00
- place odds
- 2/5 · 1.40
- place part returns
- £7
- total staked
- £10
- profit or loss
- −£3
Step 8 of 8 · Dead heat for the last place
Two riders tie for third: half the place stake is paid at 2/1, half is lost.
If riders cannot be separated for the last paid place, the place stake is divided by the number tied. Here two riders share third, so £2.50 of the place stake is settled at 2/1 and returns £7.50, while the other £2.50 is lost. The win half has already lost, which leaves the bet £2.50 down.
- the rider's finish
- 3rd, dead heat of 2
- place odds
- 2/1 · 3.00
- place part returns
- £7.50
- total back
- £7.50
- profit or loss
- −£2.50
Sources
Settlement rules as published in bookmaker help pages, checked 2 November 2026. Every figure on this page is calculated from the stake, the odds and the place terms shown; the rider and the prices are illustrative, not a real race.
Read the full guide: each-way betting explained.