Deductions calculator: your payout after a late scratching

Deductions calculator

Adjusted odds: -
Return: -
Profit: -
Amount deducted: -

Key facts

A deduction is a cut of so many cents in the dollar that a bookmaker applies to fixed odds racing bets when a runner is scratched after you bet.
Sportsbet's racing terms apply it to the full payout, stake included: $10 at $7.00 with a 13c deduction pays $70 x 0.87 = $60.90.
In our calculation, $20 at $6.00 with a 20c deduction pays $96 instead of $120, the same as backing at $4.80.
Deductions from more than one late scratching are added together. Only scratchings after you placed the bet count.
Tabcorp publishes a schedule for NSW and Victorian fixed odds: the shorter the scratched runner's price, the bigger the deduction. Over $51.00, no deduction.

How to use the deductions calculator

Enter your stake, the fixed odds you took and the total deduction in cents in the dollar, exactly as your bookmaker announces it for your bet type. If more than one runner was scratched after you bet, add their deductions together. Then choose what the deduction comes off: the whole payout, stake included, which is how the Australian racing terms we checked work, or the winnings only. The calculator shows your adjusted odds, the return, the profit and how much the scratching cost you.

The calculator does not guess the deduction for you. The figure depends on the scratched runner's price at the time, on your bet type (win, or place with 2 or 3 dividends) and on your bookmaker's rules, so use the number shown on the race result or in your bet history.

What a deduction is and why bookmakers apply it

When a runner is scratched late, every other runner's real chance goes up, but your fixed price was set when that runner was still in the race. A deduction claws back part of that windfall. Sportsbet's help centre calls it "an industry-wide requirement of fixed odds betting on racing", applied "as a deduction of cents in the dollar (effectively, a percentage) from your potential payout".

Two things decide whether you are affected. First, only scratchings after you bet count: Sportsbet says earlier scratchings "do not impact the bet". Second, the bigger the scratched runner's chance, the bigger the deduction. A scratched favourite takes a large cut; a scratched $60 outsider takes nothing. The TAB refunds standard win and place bets on the scratched runner itself, and our guide to scratching deductions covers the refund rules in more detail.

The deductions formula

With the deduction d written as a decimal (20c in the dollar = 0.20):

Whole payout method: return = stake x odds x (1 - d), adjusted odds = odds x (1 - d)

Winnings only method: return = stake + stake x (odds - 1) x (1 - d), adjusted odds = 1 + (odds - 1) x (1 - d)

Sportsbet's racing terms show the first method with real numbers in clause 6.1: "$10 to win on a 7.00 winner" with "total win deductions" of 13c, so "you will receive 87c in every dollar of the Face Value of the ticket": $70 x 0.87 = $60.90, a profit of $50.90. The same terms use the second method, "deductions are made from winnings (exclusive of stake)", for UK and Irish racing. If your bookmaker's terms say something else, follow them.

Worked example: $20 at $6.00 with a 20c deduction

You back a horse $20 to win at $6.00. Later two runners are scratched, and the bookmaker applies deductions of 12c and 8c, a total of 20c in the dollar. Your horse wins.

Payout before deductions: $20 x 6.00 = $120.
Whole payout method: $120 x (1 - 0.20) = $96, a profit of $76. Your price has effectively dropped to $4.80.
Winnings only method, for comparison: $20 + $100 x 0.80 = $100, an effective price of $5.00.

The scratchings cost you $24 under the whole payout method. Those are the calculator's default inputs.

How the deduction size changes your payout

Same $20 at $6.00, in our calculation:

Total deduction	Adjusted odds (whole payout)	Return	Profit	Adjusted odds (winnings only)	Return
None	$6.00	$120.00	$100.00	$6.00	$120.00
5c	$5.70	$114.00	$94.00	$5.75	$115.00
10c	$5.40	$108.00	$88.00	$5.50	$110.00
20c	$4.80	$96.00	$76.00	$5.00	$100.00
30c	$4.20	$84.00	$64.00	$4.50	$90.00
40c	$3.60	$72.00	$52.00	$4.00	$80.00

On a short-priced runner, a big deduction can take the whole payout below your stake under the whole payout method. A $3.00 winner with a 78c deduction would pay only 66 cents per dollar staked. The calculator flags that case; check your bookmaker's rules if it ever comes up.

Where the deduction comes from

You do not need to work out the deduction yourself, but it helps to know how it is set. Tabcorp publishes a schedule that "applies to both NSW and Victorian Fixed Odds Betting", keyed to the scratched runner's price. A few rows from that schedule:

Scratched runner's price	Win deduction	Place (3 dividends)	Place (2 dividends)
$1.01 to $1.16	80c	30c	44c
$2.01 to $2.05	46c	25c	35c
$4.41 to $4.60	20c	16c	21c
$10.01 to $11.00	8c	9c	11c
$41.01 to $51.00	2c	2c	2c
Over $51.00	No deduction	No deduction	No deduction

Other bookmakers publish their own figures, and Sportsbet says its schedule is "a guide only. Actual deductions may differ". Victorian thoroughbred racing has an official source: under Racing Victoria's rules, its own deduction values apply, and for wagering service providers (WSPs) "The only variation in deduction values will be if a WSP chooses to apply a lower value than the RV deduction". In every case, the number to enter is the one your bookmaker actually applied.

Pundit tip: after a big late scratching, the price you see for your runner may already be shorter, but your ticket keeps its old price minus the deduction. Compare the two before you place another bet on the same race.

Deductions, each way bets and dead heats

Each way bets take two deductions, one from the win column and one from the place column, so run each half separately. For example, $10 each way at $6.00 and $2.20 with a 20c win deduction and a 16c place deduction returns $48.00 from the win half and $18.48 from the place half if the horse wins, in our calculation. The each way calculator gives the figures before deductions.

If your runner also dead heats, both rules cut the payout by a multiplier, so the order does not change the answer under the whole payout method: enter the adjusted odds from this page into the dead heat calculator. If you bet early on a big race such as the Melbourne Cup, check whether the market is all in or final field before you bet, because that decides whether a scratching means a refund or nothing. Tote bets are not subject to deductions, one of the trade-offs covered in tote vs fixed odds.

Frequently asked questions

How are deductions calculated?

Your bookmaker sets a deduction in cents in the dollar based on the scratched runner's price. Under Sportsbet's racing terms you multiply your full payout by 1 minus the deduction: $10 at $7.00 with 13c off pays $70 x 0.87 = $60.90.

Why did my bet pay less than the odds I took?

Most likely a runner was scratched after you placed the bet and a deduction was applied, or your runner dead heated. Check the race result for scratchings and deductions, then enter them in the calculator.

Are deductions applied to tote bets?

No. Deductions are a fixed odds rule, which Sportsbet describes as a requirement of fixed odds betting on racing. Tote dividends are calculated from the pool after the race, and the TAB refunds win and place bets on a scratched runner.

Do deductions apply to each way bets?

Yes, separately to each half. Win and place bets have their own deduction columns, so the win half and the place half usually lose a different number of cents. Run each half through the calculator on its own.

Can I avoid deductions?

Not on a standard fixed odds racing bet struck before a late scratching. Bets on early markets work differently: Sportsbet says bets struck before the Final Field is declared are accepted on an all in basis, with no refunds or deductions.