How are Racebook payouts determined?
Racebook payouts are determined using track odds—that is, odds are determined based on how much money is placed on each horse worldwide, and released to the public only after the race is finished. You can find the track odds for past races in our racebook section: simply choose the track and race you’re interested in, and a few minutes after that race is over, track odds and results will appear.
As you can see in the above screenshot, the payouts listed are based on the minimum bet amounts for each type. For example, a “straight bet” on a win, place, or show is based on a $2 minimum bet. Therefore, the payout of 9.60 shown here works out to 4.80 paid out per dollar bet.
Once you’ve determined how much you should receive per dollar, simply multiply that per-dollar amount by the amount of your bet to determine your payout in the event of a win.
Why is my payout lower than expected?
As is the case at many off track betting facilities, Sports Interaction does “cap” (limit) the potential payout of any given bet. This can affect exceptionally high payouts (usually exotic bets). Sports Interaction uses two different types of payout caps.
1. Capped by Category: the total maximum payout on any one race, per customer, is:
• $25,000 for tracks in Category A
• $15,000 for tracks in Category B
• $8,000 for tracks in Category C
• $3,000 for tracks in Category D
You can find a list of all tracks and their categories here.
2. Capped by Odds: For each bet type and category, there is an initial bet amount that is paid out at full track odds—that is, without any reduction. Once your bet exceeds that amount, however, an odds cap applies to the additional amount. You can find these odds caps here, or in this chart:
Here are a few examples to illustrate this point:
- Alice places a bet of $65 on horse #5 to "Win" a race at a Category A track. The track odds for horse #5 to win are listed as 45.00 for the minimum $2 bet. This works out to odds of 22.50 per $1 bet. We pay full track odds on the first $50 of the bet—that is, $50 x 22.50, or $1125. For the remaining $15 of the bet, odds are capped at 20/1—that is, $15 x 20, or $300. So, the total payout for this bet is $1425.
- Bob places a "Trifecta" of $50 at a Category C track, which ends up winning. The track odds for his winning trifecta are listed as 460.00 for the minimum $1 bet. We pay full track odds on the first $10 of the bet—that is, $10 x $460, or $4600. For the remaining $40 of the bet, odds are capped at 300/1—that is, $40 x 300, or $12,000. This would come to a total of $16,600; however, since Category C tracks are capped at an overall limit of $8000, only a total of $8000 would be paid.
- Caitlin places an "Exacta" for $25 at a Category B track, which ends up winning. The track odds for her winning trifecta are listed as 400.00 for her minimum $1 bet. We pay full track odds on the first $20 of the bet—that is, $20 x 400, or $8000. For the remaining $5 of the bet, odds are capped at 300/1—that is, $5 x $300, or $1,500. This comes to a total of $9,500; since this is under the Category B limit of $15,000, we can pay Caitlin the full $9,500.
If you have any questions about how odds caps are calculated, or feel that your caps have been calculated incorrectly, don’t hesitate to contact us 24/7, and we’ll be happy to check into this for you.