How does a Lucky 15 Work in Horse Racing?

For many horse racing punters, the ‘Lucky 15’ bet is a popular attraction on Saturday afternoon and during the more prestigious weekday meetings, but how exactly does a lucky 15 work and how do you calculate it?

At such times, there is quality racing involving better-known horses, but why has this particular bet become so favourable and what does ‘Lucky 15’ actually mean?

In this article we are going to look at all the key points of a lucky 15, whether you should bet win or each-way, and some of our favourite bookmaker offers you can use when placing a lucky 15.

 

What is a Lucky 15?

• A lucky 15 consists of 15 bets made up of four selections.
• The more horses that win, the more of the 15 bets will be a winner, meaning the bigger return.
• 1 accumulator, 4 trebles, 6 doubles, 4 singles make up the 15 bets.
• The stake is 15 times your bet e.g. a £1 lucky 15 costs £15.
• Bet win or each-way on the lucky 15 – an each-way bet doubles your stake e.g. a £1 each-way lucky 15 costs £30

 

The Meaning of ‘Lucky 15’

This type of bet gets it’s name from the 15 permutations that come with it. As you can see, a lucky 15 can be a very profitable bet if you can get four selections correct and that’s where our lucky 15 tips are here to help you out.

 

‘15’

The term ‘15’ is quite simply the number of permutations on the bet either to win or each-way. Four horses are selected which incorporates 4 singles, 6 doubles, 4 trebles and an accumulator with each having the same stake value.

For example, placing 50p on each of the choices amounts to a stake of £7.50 and the difference between this bet and a similar ‘Yankee’ is that one winner guarantees a return as four extra permutations (singles) are involved.

 

‘Lucky’

The term ‘Lucky’ refers to the fact that bouses are available with most bookmakers. For example, on a Lucky 15 win only permutation, one winning horse out of four may yield a double-odds return or greater while four winning horses could result in another added bonus to the winnings.

In the first case, when only one horse wins at the relatively short odds of 6/4, the normal return for a 50p single would be £1.25. Barely worth claiming the winnings! However, most bookmakers will offer double the odds of 6/4 for which you will receive £2.00. On the High Street, with several bookmakers competing with each other, one may offer treble the odds for a single winner yielding £2.75. In more extreme cases, quadruple the odds may be offered.

One winner at 5/1 at double odds will net £5.50 rather than £3.00.

At the other extreme, four winners and 15 successful permutations at 6/4 will produce a dividend of approximately £74 but with a bookmaker bonus of 10% added to the winnings, nearly £82 will be won.

 

How does an each-way lucky 15 work?

This would work alongside the same basic principles of any each-way bet in that you would get the each-way part of your bet paid if your horse finished in the places, if you got two horses placed one of your doubles would win as well as the two singles, etc.

On horse racing, an each-way lucky 15 includes the standard ‘win’ bets as well as the ‘each-way part of the selections. This is best used on horses whose odds are 8/1 or more but this is not a set rule.

An each-way lucky 15 consists of 30 bets, the 15 win bets as discussed above, and the 15 each-way bets. Bare this in mind when deciding what stake to place as it will be multiplied by 30.

 

I’ve got a lucky 15 non-runner – what happens?

If one of your selections on your lucky 15 bet is a non-runner or is void, the bet will still take place but without the non-runner. There is an example of this on the Paddy Power website which explains it perfectly.

“You make four selections (A, B, C and D) and place a Lucky 15. D pulls out, so what happens now?

Well, you get your single unit stake back for D not running and then all multiple bets that include D are reduced accordingly.

So, your four-fold of A, B, C and D becomes a treble of A, B and C.

Any treble including D becomes a double and any double with D becomes a single.

The same logic applies to all mutiple bets. For those bets that do not include singles (such as a yankee) then there are no refunds with one non-runner.”

That is how a lukcy 15 bet is worked out with a non-runner and it is likely to be the same with whichever bookies you have used.

 

Lucky 15 Explanation

In the event of a Yankee bet or Super Yankee bet where there are no returns for just one winning selection out of four, the Lucky 15 offers that compensation and therefore it could be worth adding a decent priced horse to the selections if judged to be a reasonable prospect.

There is nothing worse than having a 10/1 winner or more in a bet, but all other three horses losing. At least the Lucky 15 will provide a £10.50 return for a single winning selection assuming a 10/1 price and double odds for one winner at 50p stake.

Another factor to consider is whether the Lucky 15 bet is the best option on the day. At the Cheltenham Festival during March, there are quite a number of races with sizeable fields, especially the handicaps. Selecting winners can be notoriously difficult and cheering home four horses (wins or each-way) can be considered a serious achievement.

With some horses starting at generous prices, it may be worth placing individual singles rather than smaller permutations with the former option offering the opportunity of a greater return should the selection prevail. Lucky 15 bets may be more effective in the higher-standard graded races rather than the multiple-runner handicaps.

 

Free Bets for a Lucky 15

Bet £10 on a lucky 15 bet with a new William Hill account and win or lose you will get two free £15 bets credited to your account. There is also a lucky 15 calculator on their website which will help you quickly calculate how much you are going to win from your lucky 15 bet today.

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