{"id":423,"date":"2016-10-17T10:28:47","date_gmt":"2016-10-17T10:28:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bettingwebsites.org.uk\/?page_id=423"},"modified":"2021-09-16T13:06:46","modified_gmt":"2021-09-16T13:06:46","slug":"rule-4-explained","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bettingwebsites.org.uk\/articles\/horse-racing\/rule-4-explained\/","title":{"rendered":"Rule 4 Explained"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"RuleThere are many different rules in horse racing and you would need to be a genius to fully understand all of them.<\/p>\n

Luckily, they aren\u2019t all essential information for the discerning punter, but one rule amongst them certainly is. This is Rule 4, and it\u2019s very important to understand because it has a direct influence on how much your bet may be worth.<\/p>\n

It exists to protect the bookies from situations where a punter could bet on every horse in the race and still win money, regardless of who won. Things can change last minute in racing which has a knock-on effect to the odds, so Rule 4 is in place to manage that.<\/p>\n

Rule 4: A Working Example<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"NewmarketRule 4 is an industry-standard deduction made on winnings from horse and greyhound races. It comes into operation when an entrant is withdrawn from a race after the final declarations have been made and someone has already taken a price on that race.<\/p>\n

For example: It\u2019s the 3.20 at Newmarket and you have decided to put a bet on the favourite at a price of 2-1. That\u2019s because, in your opinion, by the time the race begins it may well be a lower price. There are ten horses in the race, but before it begins one of the horses is pulled out of the running and does not come under starting orders. This means that although you have a set price for your selection, the make-up of the race is now different from when that price was taken.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s say it was the second favourite who was withdrawn which was priced up at 4-1; with your horses\u2019 main competitor out of the way the chances of your selection winning are a lot higher than they would otherwise have been.\u00a0A new market will be formed to reflect this and that selection of yours may well now be odds on. There you are with a 2-1 bet on the now odds on favourite – but sadly, due to Rule 4, those odds aren\u2019t going to fully determine how much money you\u2019ll receive if it goes on to win the race. This is the reason that Rule 4 exists.<\/p>\n

NOTE:<\/strong> If you had backed the withdrawn horse your stake would be refunded, unless you wagered ante-post, in which case your stake would be lost.<\/p>\n

How Are The Odds Affected?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

As you\u2019ll see, it\u2019s the odds of the entrant that withdraws from the race which are the key here.<\/p>\n

Looking at the table below, if the odds of the non-runner are 1\/9 or shorter at the time of withdrawal, there will be a deduction from your winnings of 90p in the \u00a3 (or other currency). This means that 90% of your winnings are deducted. It\u2019s so high at this end of the table because a race where a favourite is that short a price is likely to see other entrants at high odds. With that short-priced favourite out of the race the odds for the other entrants would be significantly lower. If the 33-1 shot gets withdrawn then there\u2019s little effect, hence no deduction.<\/p>\n

The official Tattersalls Rule 4 deductions will be applied by UK bookies are as follows:<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Odds of Non-Runner<\/th>\nDeduction per \u00a3<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
1\/9 or Longer Odds On<\/td>\n90 pence<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2\/11 to 2\/17<\/td>\n85 pence<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1\/4 to 1\/5<\/td>\n80 pence<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3\/10 to 2\/7<\/td>\n75 pence<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2\/5 to 1\/3<\/td>\n70 pence<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
8\/15 to 4\/9<\/td>\n65 pence<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
8\/13 to 4\/7<\/td>\n60 pence<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4\/5 to 4\/6<\/td>\n55 pence<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
20\/21 to 5\/6<\/td>\n50 pence<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Evens to 6\/5<\/td>\n45 pence<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5\/4 to 6\/4<\/td>\n40 pence<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
8\/5 to 7\/4<\/td>\n35 pence<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9\/5 to 9\/4<\/td>\n30 pence<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
12\/5 to 3\/1<\/td>\n25 pence<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
16\/5 to 4\/1<\/td>\n20 pence<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9\/2 to 11\/2<\/td>\n15 pence<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6\/1 to 9\/1<\/td>\n10 pence<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10\/1 to 14\/1<\/td>\n5 pence<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Over 14\/1<\/td>\nNo Deduction<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

In our example (3:20 at Newmarket) the deduction would be 15% as the horse withdrawn was priced up at 4-1. Note that the deduction which takes place is only levied on your winnings, not your actual stake. Therefore, if your stake had been \u00a310 then your win would have been \u00a320 on that 2\/1 shot if all horses had taken part. With the 15% deduction, the win is reduced to \u00a318.50:<\/p>\n

\u00a310 stake + \u00a310 winnings = \u00a320<\/p>\n

\u00a310 winnings \u2013 15% = \u00a38.50<\/p>\n

\u00a310 stake + adjusted \u00a38.50 winnings = \u00a318.50<\/p>\n

NOTE:<\/strong> If there is more than one withdrawal these will both be taken into account, although the deduction will not exceed 90p in the pound under any circumstances.<\/p>\n

How Common are Rule 4 Deductions?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"HorseThey can take place on a surprisingly regular basis. Horses can be withdrawn after the final declaration for all sorts of reasons. For example, if it starts raining then a horse may be withdrawn if the going becomes soft. If expected rain doesn\u2019t happen and the ground is too firm, then again, an entrant may not make it to the start.<\/p>\n

Rule 4 can cause some real worries among punters when there\u2019s a horse who is dismounted at the start and has to be inspected by the vet to see if it can still race. Another worrying moment is when a horse is unruly at the start and unwilling to go into the stalls. You may have bet on the 6-4 favourite that you think is going to win anyway, but if that 5-1 entrant is withdrawn you\u2019re looking at a Rule 4 deduction.<\/p>\n

A horse may also lose a shoe on the way down to the start or go lame, so there are several scenarios which could realistically see withdrawals occur, leading to Rule 4 coming into play.<\/p>\n

Rule 4 & Bookmaker Offers<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"SalesmanThe Rule 4 deduction for a horse that\u2019s withdrawn at odds of between 10\/1 and 14\/1 is only 5p in the pound.<\/p>\n

However, some bookies have decided not to apply this lower end deduction as a ploy to tempt bettors to use their services over a rival\u2019s.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re betting with certain bookmakers, then they might waive any individual 5p Rule 4 deductions on certain races.<\/p>\n

However, if more than one horse in this category is withdrawn, then all the deductions will apply.<\/p>\n

So, if two horses that were 14\/1 were withdrawn there would be a total deduction of 10p in the pound, but if just one of them was a non-runner then there would be no deduction at all.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n

It\u2019s always a good idea to take a close look at the results to see if there has been a Rule 4 deduction imposed, especially if you didn\u2019t watch live and come back to a return that is lower than you think it should be. Chances are it\u2019s a Rule 4 situation.<\/p>\n

All bookmakers will have a list of rules and it\u2019s a good idea to go through this to see how that particular bookmaker deals with Rule 4 deductions. There may be slight differences.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are many different rules in horse racing and you would need to be a genius to fully understand all<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":212,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"page_type":[],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2024-04-30 09:57:53","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"page_type"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bettingwebsites.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/423"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bettingwebsites.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bettingwebsites.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bettingwebsites.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bettingwebsites.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=423"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bettingwebsites.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/423\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bettingwebsites.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bettingwebsites.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"page_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bettingwebsites.org.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/page_type?post=423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}