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What does each way mean in betting? Settled in pounds
Each way is two equal bets, one to win and one to place. A single, a double and a non-runner case, settled in pounds under Sky Bet's place terms.
In betting, each way means two bets of equal stake on one selection: one to win and one to place, the place part paid at a fraction of the win odds, such as 1/5 for the first three. A £1 each-way bet costs £2. If the selection wins, both parts pay; if it only places, the win half is lost.
This is an evergreen explainer, with no news event behind it. The examples go past the single, into doubles and withdrawals.
What does each way mean in betting? The published rule
This desk read Sky Bet’s horse racing rules on 8 October 2026. They say an each-way bet “consists of two parts, the Win part and the Place part”, each an equal stake, so £1 EW costs £2. A winner pays both parts. A placed horse, say second, is settled on the place part only, and the win part is lost. Where Sky Bet’s own rules are silent, the page says Tattersalls Rules of Betting govern. Of the bookmakers’ rules, only Sky Bet’s were read for this piece; other bookmakers’ terms can differ.
How many places does each way pay?
Sky Bet’s rules set the place part by race type and field size:
| Race type | Runners | Place terms | Places paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-handicap | 2-4 | Win only | – |
| Non-handicap | 5-7 | 1/4 the odds | 1, 2 |
| Non-handicap | 8 or more | 1/5 the odds | 1, 2, 3 |
| Handicap | 2-4 | Win only | – |
| Handicap | 5-7 | 1/4 the odds | 1, 2 |
| Handicap | 8-11 | 1/5 the odds | 1, 2, 3 |
| Handicap | 12-15 | 1/4 the odds | 1, 2, 3 |
| Handicap | 16 or more | 1/4 the odds | 1, 2, 3, 4 |
Promotional extra places sit on top of this table, and the same page hedges them heavily: they depend on the runners under orders, can change with non-runners, Sky Bet may change the fractional terms when offering them, and Best Odds Guaranteed does not apply to them. Whether those extras are worth having is the subject of the each-way bet, audited.
How does an each way bet work? A £1 single in pounds
Take a horse at 10/1 in a ten-runner non-handicap, so 1/5 the odds, three places. These are illustrative desk prices, not an operator’s payout; returns include stake.
- Wins: the win part returns £11; the place part, at 1/5 of 10/1, so 2/1, returns £3. £14 back on £2.
- Second or third: the win part is lost; the place part returns £3. £3 back on £2.
- Unplaced: nothing back.
Place odds are the win odds times the fraction. At 1/5 terms, a placed horse returns more than the £2 outlay only when its win price is longer than 5/1. At exactly 5/1 the place part returns £2, break-even; at 4/1 it returns £1.80. At 1/4 terms the break-even sits at 4/1.
Each way doubles and accumulators: still two bets
Sky Bet’s each-way page, read the same day, says an each-way multiple “is still only 2 bets”: one for all selections to win, one for all selections to place. If one selection neither wins nor places, the whole bet is lost. Its own example is a six-horse each-way accumulator with five winners and one placer, which returns only the place-part accumulator.
Worked example: a £1 each-way double, A at 4/1 and B at 6/1, both in non-handicaps of eight or more runners at 1/5 three places. It costs £2. The place prices are 4/5 and 6/5.
| Result | Win double | Place double | Returned on £2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| A and B both win | £35.00 | £3.96 | £38.96 |
| A wins, B places | £0 | £3.96 | £3.96 |
| Both place, neither wins | £0 | £3.96 | £3.96 |
| Either one unplaced | £0 | £0 | £0 |
The win double is 5 × 7, so £35. The place double is 1.8 × 2.2, so £3.96. In row two, A’s win earns nothing extra: once B only places, the win line is dead and A counts only at its place price. A treble works the same way. Add a third leg at 6/1 that places, and the place line multiplies by 2.2 again, to £8.71 on a £2 treble.
What happens to the place terms when a horse is withdrawn?
Sky Bet’s rules say the place terms are set by the number of horses coming under starter’s orders, “and not by the number of declared runners when the price was taken”. A withdrawal can push a field across a boundary in the table above.
Worked example: £1 each way at 8/1 in an eight-runner non-handicap, struck when the terms showed 1/5 three places. One rival is withdrawn and seven come under orders, so the terms become 1/4 two places.
| Finish | 8 runners: 1/5, three places | 7 runners: 1/4, two places |
|---|---|---|
| Wins | £11.60 | £12.00 |
| Second | £2.60 | £3.00 |
| Third | £2.60 | £0 |
| Unplaced | £0 | £0 |
The third-placed horse loses its place half outright; second actually pays more, at the better fraction. Handicaps have their own cliff: a 12-runner field cut to 11 keeps three places but drops from 1/4 to 1/5 the odds. These figures assume no Rule 4 deduction; a late withdrawal can bring one, and the mechanics are in what Rule 4 actually costs. If the withdrawn horse is one of yours, a different rule applies, settled bet by bet in the Patent non-runner post.
Frequently asked questions
How does an each way bet work? You stake the same amount twice on one selection: once to win, once to place. Sky Bet’s rules settle the place part at a fraction of the win odds, set by field size, such as 1/5 for the first three in a non-handicap of eight or more runners. A winner pays both parts; a placed horse pays the place part only; anything else loses both.
What happens if my each way horse comes second? The win part is lost and the place part pays, provided second is inside the place terms. A £1 each-way bet at 10/1 with 1/5 three places returns £3 on the £2 staked, because the place part settles at 2/1. In a field of two to four runners, Sky Bet’s published terms are win only, so there is no place part to pay.
Is each way betting worth it? It depends on the price, not the label. At 1/5 terms a placed horse returns more than the total stake only when its win odds are longer than 5/1; at 4/1 a place returns £1.80 on £2. Each way also doubles the outlay, so the same bankroll buys half as many bets. Nothing about the structure makes a horse more likely to finish in the frame.
Each way softens a loss; it does not prevent one. Price the bet as £2, not £1, before it goes on, and set the session’s limit in pounds before the first race rather than after the third.