Free calculator
Each-way calculator
Last reviewed October 2026
The calculator
| If the horse… | Returns | Profit |
|---|---|---|
| wins | 116.00 | +96.00 |
| places (2nd–4) | 26.00 | +6.00 |
| finishes outside the places | 0.00 | -20.00 |
The place part alone returns 26.00 on 10.00 — a horse that places at these odds covers both stakes.
The formulas
An each-way bet is two equal stakes. With a stake S per part, decimal win odds O and each-way fraction 1/d:
Oplace = 1 + (O − 1) / d
// returns
wins: S × O + S × Oplace · places: S × Oplace · loses: 0
// worked: 10 each way at 8/1 (9.00), 1/5 odds
Oplace = 1 + 8 / 5 = 2.60 · wins returns 116.00 on 20
For the lay-off, each part is laid at its own market, sized so it cancels the back bet in that market:
Lplace = S × Oplace / (Pplace − c)
// P = lay odds, c = exchange commission
Extra places
The exchange's place market pays the standard number of places. A bookmaker paying one more turns that place into the only result where the back place bet and the place lay both win — the calculator's "lands the bookmaker's extra place" line. Every other result costs the small qualifying loss shown as the worst case.
Where to find them
GoldEdge lists the races where a bookmaker pays more places than the rest of the market on the extra places page, and every race card shows each bookmaker's terms side by side.
The race is short: extra places are a promotion, the prices that make them pay are the ones that move most before the off, and bookmakers limit accounts that only ever take them.
Frequently asked questions
How does an each-way bet work?
An each-way bet is two bets of the same stake on one selection: one to win, and one to finish in the places the bookmaker pays. A 10 each-way bet costs 20. If the horse wins, both parts pay; if it only places, the win part loses and the place part pays at the each-way fraction of the odds; if it finishes outside the places, both lose.
How are each-way place odds calculated?
Take the fractional odds and multiply by the each-way fraction. At 8/1 with 1/5 terms the place part pays 8/5, which is 1.6/1 or 2.60 in decimal. In decimal: place odds = 1 + (win odds − 1) × fraction, so 1 + 8 × 0.2 = 2.60.
What are standard each-way terms in UK racing?
By convention: two to four runners, win only; five to seven runners, two places at 1/4; eight or more runners, three places at 1/5; handicaps with 12 to 15 runners pay three places at 1/4, and handicaps with 16 or more pay four places at 1/4. Bookmakers can and do pay more than this, which is what an extra place is.
What is an extra place?
A bookmaker paying more places than the standard terms — say four places in a race where the others pay three. A horse finishing fourth is then a winning place bet at that bookmaker and a losing one everywhere else, including on the exchange's place market.
How does extra-place matched betting work?
You back each way at the bookmaker paying the extra place and lay both parts on the exchange: the win part in the win market, the place part in the place market (which pays the standard number of places). Most results cost a small qualifying loss. If the horse finishes in the extra place, the bookmaker's place bet wins and so does your place lay, and that one result pays for the losses many times over.
Why does each-way on a short-priced horse rarely make sense?
Because the place part pays a fraction of already-short odds. At 2/1 with 1/5 terms the place part pays 2/5 — a horse that only places returns 14 on a 20 stake. Each way is a bet on the place market as much as the win, and on favourites the place odds are usually worse than the exchange's place market.
For research, not betting advice. Positive expected value is an edge across many bets, never a prediction about one. Bet only what you can afford to lose. 18+.