A ‘scratching’ is where a runner does not run in a race that it has been declared to run in.
If you placed a single bet and your selected runner is ‘scratched’, your selection is void and the stake will be refunded to your Account. Please refer to our Racing Rules for our official rules on how Multi Bets are resulted.
If you placed a ‘fixed odds’ bet and a runner or runners other than your selected runner are scratched after you place the bet, your bet will stand, but ‘deductions’ will apply when calculating your payout for that selection. If you placed a bet at starting-price odds, deductions will only apply if runner(s) are scratched after the time betting closes and the odds for your selection become ‘fixed’.
What Are Deductions and How Do They Apply?
Deductions are an industry-wide requirement of fixed odds betting on racing. They occur due to scratchings and are applied as a deduction of cents in the dollar (effectively a percentage) from your bet. It is a necessary re-framing of the market if runners are scratched and bets refunded from the final field.
Unlike other Australian bookmakers who apply deductions to your total return, we only apply deductions to the winnings portion of your bet.
This means your original stake is always protected and never "taxed" by scratchings, ensuring you get a fairer payout.
All final field scratchings will incur a deduction to eligible fixed odds bets. A fixed odds bet is eligible for a deduction if the relevant scratching occurs after the bet has been placed. Any scratchings from before the bet is placed do not impact the bet.
Example
You place a $10 win bet on a horse with fixed odds of $2.50. Any scratchings that occurred before your bet was placed do not apply. However, there are scratchings after you place your bet which incur a total of $0.20 in deductions per dollar (20%).
To calculate the payout when your bet wins:
Potential Payout: $10 stake × $2.50 odds = $25
Winnings Portion: $25 total payout - $10 stake = $15 winnings
Deducted Amount: $15 winnings × $0.20 deduction = $3 deducted amount
Actual Payout: $25 potential payout - $3 deducted amount = $22 actual payout
Note: Because we only apply deductions to winnings, you receive $22. Under standard industry rules, a 20% deduction would have reduced your payout to $20.