There are 2 different ways to place your bet:

At the tote – successful bets are paid out based on the total number of winning tickets (any odds shown are an indication)

At the bookmakers – successful bets are paid out on the odds given
There are many different types of bets and each bookmaker will offer their own variations, however the basic types of bet are:

WIN
Place a bet on a horse you think will win the race. For example: if you successfully place £5 on a horse. to win that is offering odds of 4-1, you will receive £25 in returns.

PLACE
Pick a horse to be placed in the race, this means finishing 1st, 2nd, 3rd or sometimes 4th (pending the total number of horses running in that race). It pays out in just the same way as a win bet but the odds are much lower.

For example: if you successfully place £6 on a horse to place, which whilst offering 10-1 to win, only gives 5-2 for a place you will receive £21 in returns.

EACH WAY
This is where it gets a little tricky as in effect this is 2 bets: a win bet and a place bet, and the odds are described a little differently. For example: you bet £40 each way on a horse at odds of 20-1, this means you bet £40 to win AND £40 to place (total £80). Plus it may also be quoted as 1/4 1,2,3, this means that if it finishes in 2nd or 3rd you’ll get 1/4 of the win odds.

There are 3 different outcomes for this bet:

Finishes 4th or worse
Lose entire stake

Finishes 2nd or 3rd (place)
(20–1) x 1/4 x £40 = £200
Plus £40 stake back = £240 total returns

Finishes 1st (wins both bets – win and place)
(20–1) x £40 = £800 + £40 stake = £840

Plus place returns = £240

TOTAL RETURNS = £1,080

DOUBLES, TREBLES, ACCUMULATORS
A double is a combination of two bets, where both need to win
A treble is a combination of three bets, where all three need to win
An accumulator is the term used for a larger combination of 4, 5, 6 or 7 bets, where they all have to win

For all these, the total winnings from the first bet roll on to the second,
and so on.