PLACED MARKET

The “To Be Placed” market on Betfair Exchange allows you to bet on whether a participant—usually a horse in a race or an athlete—will finish within a specified number of top positions, rather than necessarily finishing first.

How the Market Works

• Objective: Win the bet if the selected participant finishes within the specified places (e.g. the first 2, 3, or 4 positions, depending on the number of participants and the race rules).
• Number of places paid: This is determined by Betfair before the event starts, based on the number of runners. This number does not normally change in the event of late withdrawals, except in exceptional circumstances.
• Back or Lay: You can bet on a horse/athlete to be placed (Back, blue boxes) or bet against it being placed (Lay, pink boxes).

Key Differences Compared with the “Winner” (Win) Market

• Lower odds: Odds are naturally lower than in the outright Win market because the probability of finishing within the specified places is higher.
• Reduction factors: If a participant is withdrawn, odds adjustments (reduction factors) in To Be Placed markets are applied to potential winnings rather than directly to the original traded odds, using different calculations from Win markets.

In a Betfair Exchange To Be Placed market, the exact number of winning places is determined before the start of the race and depends on the sporting discipline.

In horse racing—the main sport for this type of market—standard industry rules are applied based on the number of declared runners.

Standard Horse Racing Rules

The number of places paid is determined by the number of actual runners:

• Fewer than 5 runners: The To Be Placed market is usually not offered.
• 5 to 7 runners: The first 2 places are paid.
• 8 to 15 runners: The first 3 places are paid.
• 16 or more runners (handicap races): The first 4 places are paid.

Betfair always shows the exact number of places in the following ways:

• In the market title: You will see descriptions such as “To Be Placed (3 Places)” or “To Be Placed (4 Places)”.
• In the market rules: These can be accessed by clicking the information button in the Market Window.
• XTrader displays the number of winners in the Market Window next to the trading tab titles.

What Happens in the Event of Withdrawals (Non-Runners)?

On Betfair Exchange, unlike with traditional bookmakers, the number of winning places remains fixed once the market has been opened, even if several horses are withdrawn before the start.

If a race originally has 8 runners (3 places) and is reduced to 6 runners because of two withdrawals, Betfair will continue to pay the first 3 places. To compensate for the resulting change in probabilities, a Reduction Factor is applied to Back and Lay bets.

The Reduction Factor on Betfair Exchange is used to adjust odds fairly when a participant is withdrawn before the start of the race.

In XTrader, you can find the reduction factor in the Selection Details table accessible from the Market Window.

In traditional Win markets, the calculation is straightforward. In To Be Placed markets, the mechanism is slightly more complex because the probabilities are distributed across multiple winning positions.

How the Calculation Works in “To Be Placed” Markets

Each participant is assigned a reduction factor expressed as a percentage, calculated according to its odds at the time of withdrawal.

When a participant is withdrawn from a To Be Placed market, the reduction is not applied directly to the odds, but to the potential net winnings of the bet.

Formula:

New Odds = (Original Odds − 1) × (1 − Reduction Factor of the withdrawn participant) + 1

Modification of Matched Odds

Bets that were already matched (both Back and Lay) before the withdrawal are adjusted according to the formula above.

Cancellation of Unmatched Bets

All unmatched bet offers in the order book are automatically cancelled by Betfair when the withdrawal occurs in order to protect traders.

Multiple Withdrawals

If more than one participant is withdrawn, the reduction factors are applied sequentially in chronological order of withdrawal.

EACH WAY MARKET

An Each Way (E/W) market is a very common type of bet, particularly in horse racing and golf, that combines two separate bets: one on the participant to Win and one on the participant to Place.

When you place an Each Way bet, your stake is effectively divided into two equal components.

Half of the stake is placed on the participant to win. The other half is placed on the participant to finish within the specified places (e.g. the first 2, 3, 4, or more positions depending on the event).

Important financial note: If you place a €10 Each Way bet, the total amount staked is €20 (€10 Win + €10 Place).

How Are the Place Odds Calculated?

With traditional bookmakers (and on the Betfair Sportsbook), the Place odds are not independent. Instead, they are calculated as a fraction of the Win odds.

The standard fractions specified by the betting terms are usually 1/4 or 1/5 of the original odds.

Practical Example

You place €10 Each Way (total stake €20) on a horse at decimal odds of 13.00. The race terms pay 4 places at 1/4 odds.

The horse wins the race:

The Win bet wins: €10 × 13.00 = €130 gross return.

The Place bet also wins. Place odds calculation:

[(13.00 − 1) / 4] + 1 = 4.00

Return: €10 × 4.00 = €40 gross.

Total return: €170 (net profit: €150).

The horse finishes 3rd (placed but does not win):

The Win bet loses (€0).

The Place bet wins: €10 × 4.00 = €40 gross.

Total return: €40 (net profit: €20, based on a total stake of €20).