Dutching means backing two or more runners in the same race, with stakes sized so you get the same return whichever of them wins. You put more on the shorter-priced runners and less on the longer ones. To work out the stakes, divide 1 by each price, add the results, and give each runner its share of your total stake. The catch: a dutch is really one bet at one combined price, and if none of your runners wins you lose the lot.
With the Cox Plate on Saturday 24 October, run at Flemington this year, and the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday 3 November, plenty of punters will want to cover more than one horse. This guide walks through the maths with invented prices, not real horses, and covers what most dutching guides leave out: expected value, scratchings, deductions, the tote and rounding.
How dutching works
Say a bookmaker has three runners you like at these prices. All numbers here are invented.
| Runner | Price | Implied chance (1 divided by price) |
|---|---|---|
| A | $4.00 | 25.0% |
| B | $6.00 | 16.7% |
| C | $9.00 | 11.1% |
| Total | 52.8% |
Backing all three with $100 split evenly would pay $133.33, $200 or $300 depending on which wins. Dutching levels those returns out instead.
The stake formula
- Work out 1 divided by each price: 0.250, 0.167 and 0.111.
- Add them: 0.528. This is the share of the race your three runners hold, on the bookmaker's prices.
- Each runner's stake = total stake x (its figure / 0.528).
- Each winner returns total stake / 0.528.
| Runner | Price | Stake | Return if it wins |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | $4.00 | $47.37 | $189.47 |
| B | $6.00 | $31.58 | $189.47 |
| C | $9.00 | $21.05 | $189.47 |
| Total | $100.00 |
Whichever of the three wins, you get back $189.47, so $89.47 more than you put in. If any other runner wins, you get back nothing.
Working to a target return instead
Some people dutch for a set return rather than a set outlay. For a $200 return, each stake is simply $200 divided by the price: $50.00 on A, $33.33 on B and $22.22 on C, which is $105.56 in total. Same maths, different starting point.
A dutch is one bet at a combined price
Here's the part most dutching pages skip. The three bets above behave exactly like a single bet at $1.89 (1 divided by 0.528). That's the price of "one of A, B or C wins".
Wikipedia's dutching entry puts it plainly: dutching is "sharing the risk of losing across a number of runners", and it is "not foolproof". When one of your runners wins, the dutch shows a profit because each winning return is more than the total you staked. That's true whenever your runners' implied chances add up to less than 100%, which they nearly always do when you back only part of a field. It tells you nothing about whether the bet is good value.
To judge value, compare the combined price with your own estimate of the chance one of them wins. If you think A, B and C together win 47% of the time, a fair combined price is about $2.13 (1 divided by 0.47). At $1.89 you're being paid less than that.
Dutching can't create value, only prices can
The expected value of a dutch is the stake-weighted average of the expected value of each runner in it. Using the same invented estimates (A 22%, B 15%, C 10%):
| Runner | Price | Your chance | EV per $1 | Share of stake |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | $4.00 | 22% | -12.0% | 47.4% |
| B | $6.00 | 15% | -10.0% | 31.6% |
| C | $9.00 | 10% | -10.0% | 21.1% |
| Dutch | $1.89 | 47% | -11.0% |
Three bets that are each poor value combine into a dutch that's poor value too. Splitting stakes changes how often you collect, not what each dollar is worth on average. If you're new to expected value, our expected value guide explains the formula.
Where the price comes from matters
The one lever you control is the price on each runner. Here are the same three runners at the best price available across several bookmakers, still invented:
| Runner | One bookmaker | Best price across bookmakers |
|---|---|---|
| A | $4.00 | $4.40 |
| B | $6.00 | $6.50 |
| C | $9.00 | $9.50 |
| Combined price | $1.89 | $2.06 |
| $100 dutch returns | $189.47 | $205.60 |
You can place each leg of a dutch with a different bookmaker. Taking the best price on each runner lifts the return from $189.47 to $205.60 on the same $100, and moves the expected value on our invented estimates from -11.0% to -3.4%. It still isn't positive, which is the point: better prices make a dutch less bad or more good, but the dutch itself adds nothing.
It also helps to know how much margin is in the whole race before you start. Our guide to market percentage in horse racing shows how to add it up and compare bookmakers.
Scratchings and deductions
Australian racing rules can unlevel a dutch after you've placed it. Rules differ between bookmakers, so read your own bookmaker's terms.
Another runner is scratched
When a runner you haven't backed is scratched after you bet, bookmakers usually cut fixed prices with a deduction, set by the scratched horse's price. The shorter the scratched horse, the bigger the cut. BetSeeker's guide gives the example of a 72c deduction for a $1.10 scratching, and no effect from a $50 one.
The same deduction applies to all three of your bets, so the returns stay level but shrink. With an invented 20c deduction:
| Runner | Price after deduction | Stake | Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | $3.20 | $47.37 | $151.58 |
| B | $4.80 | $31.58 | $151.58 |
| C | $7.20 | $21.05 | $151.58 |
Your runners now have a better chance, because a fancied horse is out, but the payout has dropped from $189.47 to $151.58.
One of your runners is scratched
Under typical fixed-odds racing rules, a bet on a runner scratched after the final field is set is refunded. Early all-in or futures bets are different: they generally stand, and lose if the horse doesn't run.
Say B ($6.00) is scratched and the invented deduction on the others is 14c. You get B's $31.58 back. A becomes $3.44 and C becomes $7.74, and both still return $162.95 on the $68.42 left in play. The two remaining bets stay level with each other, but you're now covering two runners, not three. Whether you re-dutch the refunded money is a fresh decision at fresh prices.
Dutching on the tote
A tote dividend isn't fixed when you bet. The tote pool is shared among the winning bets once betting closes, so the price you see is only an estimate. You can't size stakes to level returns against prices you don't know yet, so a tote dutch will almost always pay different amounts depending on which runner wins. Dutching works on fixed odds and on the exchange.
Dutching on the exchange
On a betting exchange you can back several runners in the same way. Because a level dutch returns the same whichever runner wins, your net winnings on the market are the same too, so commission comes off equally. Take it into account before comparing an exchange dutch with fixed odds: our guide to Betfair commission shows how to work out what you're really paid.
Rounding the stakes
Bookmakers take stakes in dollars and cents, but plenty of people round. Rounding the $100 dutch to $47, $32 and $21 gives returns of $188, $192 and $189. That's close enough for most purposes, but the bigger the stakes and the more runners, the more the returns drift apart. Round deliberately, and check the return on each runner after you do.
Dutching, arbitrage and each way
These three get mixed up, so here's how they differ.
| Approach | What you back | When it loses |
|---|---|---|
| Dutching | Some runners in a race, sized for the same return | Any runner you didn't back wins |
| Arbitrage | Every outcome, at prices adding to under 100% | Only if something goes wrong: a price moves, a bet is voided or rules differ |
| Each way | One runner to win and to place | The runner misses the placings |
If you dutch every runner in a race at prices that add to under 100%, that's an arbitrage. It's rare, because bookmakers price whole races well over 100%. Our arbitrage guide covers how those work, and our each way guide covers the place maths.
A dutching checklist
- Add up 1 divided by each price. If the total is near 100%, your runners barely pay more than your stake when one wins.
- Work out the combined price (1 divided by that total) and ask whether it's fair for your runners together.
- Take the best fixed price for each runner, even if that means different bookmakers.
- Check whether each bet is final field or all-in, and read the deduction rules.
- Recheck after scratchings. A level dutch can turn into a smaller one, or into fewer runners.
- Don't add runners just to collect more often. Each extra runner lowers the combined price.
Compare prices before you dutch
A dutch is only as good as the prices in it, and checking every runner across every bookmaker by hand is slow. BetBank's Racing Odds Screen shows live fixed win and place prices across Australian bookmakers in one view, with the top price for each runner highlighted. Use it with the betting calculators to check implied chances and returns before you place each leg.
Every dutch can lose, so set your limit before race day. 18+ only, please gamble responsibly. If you want a break, BetBank's responsible gambling page lists free support, and BetStop lets you exclude yourself from licensed Australian betting providers.