Odds Ledger

2026-10-15

Story file

What happens to a Trixie if one horse is a non-runner?

One non-runner in a £1 Trixie: two doubles become singles, the treble a double, nothing refunded. Sky Bet's rule quoted, then settled in pounds.

By Staff, Odds Ledger News Horse Racing Multiples Staking 888 words 4 min read

If one horse in a Trixie is a non-runner, the bet does not void at Sky Bet, whose help page says a leg in a multiple drops to the next bet down: the two doubles containing the non-runner become singles, the treble becomes a double, and the third double is untouched. Nothing is refunded, because a Trixie has no singles.

Updated 9 October 2026: new search title and summary; the article text is unchanged.

That answers what happens to a Trixie if one horse is a non-runner; the rest is arithmetic. This is an evergreen explainer, with no news event behind it.

What happens to a Trixie if one horse is a non-runner? Sky Bet’s rule, quoted

This desk read Sky Bet’s non-runners page on 14 September 2026. It says: “If the selection is part of a multiple the bet will become the next accumulative bet down e.g. a treble becomes a double.” No other bookmaker’s page was read for this piece; the mechanics below are Sky Bet’s, not the industry’s.

Sky Bet’s bet-types page, read the same day, says a Trixie “contains three doubles and one treble bet” on three selections. A Patent adds three singles; their absence is why a Trixie settles differently when a horse is pulled out.

A £1 Trixie with one non-runner, in pounds

Take a £1 Trixie (£4 stake) on A at 2/1, B at 3/1 and C at 4/1, with C a non-runner. A worked example at prices the desk chose, not an operator’s payout; returns include stake.

Bet as placedBecomesA and B winA onlyB onlyNeither
AB doubleAB double£12£0£0£0
AC doublesingle on A£3£3£0£0
BC doublesingle on B£4£0£4£0
ABC trebleAB double£12£0£0£0
Total returned£31£3£4£0

No column contains a refund: every bet still holds a runner.

What if two horses in a Trixie are non-runners?

With B and C both withdrawn, three bets drop to a single on A. The BC double has no live leg, so the page’s general rule, “your bet will be void and your stake returned”, applies; that reading is the desk’s, as the page gives no Trixie example.

Bet as placedBecomesA wins at 2/1A loses
AB doublesingle on A£3£0
AC doublesingle on A£3£0
BC doublevoid, stake back£1£1
ABC treblesingle on A£3£0
Total returned£10£1

The antepost exception the guides we could open skip

The same page says: “If your bet is an Antepost bet … it will be classed as a losing bet.” With C an antepost non-runner, the AC double, the BC double and the treble are lost; only the AB double stands, £12 if both win, otherwise £0. The page’s only carve-out is Cheltenham Festival antepost placed under its Non-Runner No Bet promotion, which it says is refunded.

The mechanics are the same family as the Lucky 15 non-runner question, minus the singles and the bonus.

Does Rule 4 apply to a Trixie with a non-runner?

Not because of your own non-runner. Rule 4 is a deduction on the race a horse leaves, and C leaving its race changes nothing about A’s or B’s prices. It bites only if a rival leaves A’s or B’s race, cutting that leg’s winnings at the published rate. No deduction scale was read for this piece, so no figure is printed; the mechanics are in what Rule 4 actually costs.

Frequently asked questions

What happens if you have a non-runner in a Trixie? The Trixie shrinks rather than voids. Under the rule on Sky Bet’s non-runners page, each bet drops to the next bet down: the two doubles containing the non-runner become singles, the treble becomes a double, and the third double is settled as placed.

Do you get a refund for a non-runner in a Trixie? Not with one non-runner. A refund arises only when a bet has no live leg left, and a Trixie has no singles, so all four bets still hold a runner. With two non-runners the double on those two horses is empty and that £1 comes back.

How many winners do you need in a Trixie bet? Two, as placed: a Trixie is three doubles and one treble with no singles, per Sky Bet’s bet-types page, so one winner alone returns nothing. After a non-runner the reduced bet contains singles, so one winner from the two remaining horses returns something.

A non-runner turns a £4 Trixie into two singles and two doubles; it does not turn it into a good bet. The reduced slip still needs two winners to pay more than £4 back. Treat the four pounds as written off, and read the settlement rather than adding another leg.