Rule 4 calculator

Work out a Rule 4 deduction: what comes off your winnings when a horse is withdrawn after you bet.

Total return £0.00

Total stake: £0.00
Profit: £0.00

Every bet, line by line

Bookmaker bonuses and consolation payouts are not included. Returns are rounded down to the penny.

How a rule 4 is settled

When a horse is withdrawn after the market has formed, the prices of the rest were too long, so bookmakers take a deduction from the winnings of bets struck at a price before it came out. That is Rule 4 (Tattersalls' Rule 4(c)). The deduction is quoted in pence in the pound and depends on how short the withdrawn horse was: the shorter its price, the bigger the deduction.

The deduction comes off your winnings only. Your stake comes back in full.

Worked example: £10 at 4/1 with a 15p Rule 4. Without the deduction the bet returns £50.00, £40 winnings plus the stake. 15p in the pound off £40 is £6, so it returns £44.00.

In a multiple the deduction applies only to the leg it was taken on. A £10 double at 3/1 (with 15p off) and 2/1: the first leg pays 3 x 0.85 = 2.55 to 1, so £35.50 rolls on, and the double returns £106.50.

The worked examples on this page are settled by the same calculator you can use above, so the figures match it to the penny.

The rules we use

These are the standard UK settlement rules. Where bookmakers differ, we use the commonest rule and say so. Your bookmaker's own rules decide your bet.

Each way: An each-way bet is two bets of the same stake: one to win at the full odds, one to place at the place fraction of the odds. A winner pays both. A horse that only places pays the place bet.
Each-way multiples: The win part needs every horse to win. The place part needs every horse to win or place, and a winner counts at its place odds there.
Non-runners and voids: A non-runner or void leg counts as odds of 1.0: in a single you get your stake back, and in a multiple that leg drops out, so a double becomes a single, a treble a double, and so on.
Rule 4: The deduction comes off the winnings only, never the stake, and only on the leg it applies to. The place part is worked from the reduced win odds. Deductions above 90p in the pound are refused, because the rule caps them there.
Dead heats: The stake on that leg is divided by the number of horses tied, then multiplied by the number of tied places that are still paid. A dead heat for 1st halves the win part. Two tied for the last place paid halves the place part.
Rounding: Everything is worked out exactly and only the total return is rounded, down to the penny, as most bookmakers do. Each line in the breakdown is rounded down on its own, so the lines can come to a penny more than the total.
Bonuses: Bonuses and consolation payouts on lucky 15s, lucky 31s and similar bets vary from bookmaker to bookmaker, so none are included. Check your own bookmaker's rules.
Total stake: If you enter a total stake, it is shared equally across every bet in the bet (and across both halves of an each-way bet).

Questions

Does Rule 4 apply to starting price bets?

Usually not. The SP market re-forms without the withdrawn horse, so SP bets are settled in full. If the horse is withdrawn too late for a new market to form, SP bets get the deduction as well.

What is the most that can be deducted?

The deduction for one withdrawn horse depends on its price, and when more than one is withdrawn the deductions are added together, up to a maximum of 90p in the pound.

Does Rule 4 apply to the place part of an each-way bet?

Yes. Both parts lose the same share of their winnings: the place odds are worked out from the reduced win odds.

Does Rule 4 apply to ante-post bets?

Bets struck ante-post, before the final declarations, are not covered by Rule 4. They also lose if the horse does not run.

Other calculators

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