Dead Heat Rule contains Dead Heat rules for Racing and Golf markets. Please see our Betting Rules and Racing Rules for our official rules on how markets are settled in the event of a dead heat.
A ‘Dead Heat’ refers to an outcome in which the official result declares two or more competitors in the same position for resulting purposes. Where a ‘dead heat’ occurs, and your bet was not on a ‘draw’ market, the bet will be settled under the dead heat rules for that event.
Under the dead heat rules, the payout is reduced depending on the number of competitors involved in the dead heat. This is calculated based on the expected payout for the selection, divided by the number of runners involved in the dead heat.
Racing Example
When there is a ‘dead heat’ in a racing event, for example when the two frontrunners tie - they will be equal 1st, there will be no 2nd placed runner, and the next finisher is placed 3rd.
Example 1 - You place a $20 bet x 5.00 odds on Horse A to win. Horse A ties with Horse B in equal 1st position, and a dead heat is declared for 1st place. The bet is paid as:
($20 x 5.00) / 2 tied horses = $50 Payout
While it is uncommon, there have been 3-way dead heats in the past where an expected payout would be divided by 3 for settlement.
Example 2 - You place a $20 bet x 6.00 odds on horse A to place “top 4”. Horses A, B & C have tied for 3rd place. Horses A, B & C have all been declared in 3rd place, and the next finishing horse is declared in 6th place. As there are 4 places to be filled in the “top 4”, only 2 of the 3 tied horses will be counted as placing in the “top 4” and the bet is paid as:
[($20 x 6.00) / 3 tied horses] * 2 paid positions = $80 Payout
Golf Example
You place a $100 bet x 6.00 odds on Player A to place “top 10”, and Players A, B & C have tied for 9th place. A dead heat has occurred. In this case, Players A, B & C will all be declared in 9th place, and the next placing player will be declared in 12th place.
As there are 10 places to be filled in the “top 10”, only 2 of the 3 tied players will be counted as placing in the “top 10” and the bet would be paid as:
[($100 x 6.00) / 3 tied players] * 2 paid positions = $400 Payout