How to Calculate Show Payoffs

In horseback racing, there are three common forms of bets, win, place or show. To place a bet for win means the horse will come in first place. To place a bet for place means the horse will come in first or second place. To place a bet for show means the horse will finish in first, second or third place. Show pays off the least of the three because there is a greater probability that the horse will finish in the top three spots than that the horse will finish specifically first, or in the top two spots.

Instructions

    • 1

      Find out the odds for a show bet. For example, 2 to 1 or 5 to 1. The first number is the amount you win and the second number is the amount you need to bet to win that amount.

    • 2

      Find the amount placed on the bet. For example, a $2 show bet at 5 to 1.

    • 3

      Convert any bet where the amount you need to bet in order to win the bet with a dollar value about $1 to a fraction expressed as $1. For example, converting a 9 to 2 bet equals 4.5 to 1, by dividing 9 by 2.

    • 4

      Multiply the number that the bet wins by the amount of the bet, then add the amount of the best. In the example $2 times 5 equals $10, then add $2, which equals a $12 payoff. In the other example, the 9 to 2 bet was converted to 4.5 to 1, so $2 times 4.5 equals $9. Then add $2, which equals an $11 payoff.