Horse racing is one of the most volatile markets in sports bettings, where odds constantly change prior to the race because of various factors that affect them. Naturally, this also influences your payouts.
If your bet didn’t return as much in winnings as you expected when you were placing it, this is most probably due to Rule 4 deductions being at play. In this article, we will review what this rule is, how it works, when bookmakers apply it to bets, and everything else you need to know to avoid an unpleasant surprise at the cashier when your payout doesn’t match your calculated expectations.
What Is Rule 4 in Horse Racing?
If you have never heard about this rule before, let’s start with the basics: what is rule 4 in horse racing? It is a mechanism bookmakers employ to cover situations when a horse is declared a non-runner after the final declarations had already been made. It only applies to your bet if you placed your wager on a horse that remained in the race after the withdrawal.
As removal of a horse from the race increases the chances of winning for other runners, this affects your potential payouts. To balance this out, bookmakers will reduce your winnings. This is a standard procedure adopted across the industry and functioning under its own procedures and mechanisms.
Why Rule 4 Deductions Apply
It is important to understand that Rule 4 deductions don’t exist to take advantage of bettors. On the contrary, its main objective is to keep the horse racing betting process fair for everyone.
When a horse is withdrawn from the race, other horses get a better chance to win because they have one runner less to compete against. This is especially true if the horse that was withdrawn before the start of the race is considered a favourite and has short odds.
If you bet on a horse with longer odds, it means initially bookmakers didn’t see it as having a good chance to win against the favourite. But now that the strong contender is out of the race, the horse with longer odds has a better probability of winning, so it shouldn’t be priced so high anymore.
This is where Rule 4 comes into play. Bookmakers will deduct a percentage of your winnings to adjust it to the changed odds.
How Rule 4 Deductions Work
So now we have the essence of Rule 4 explained, but how exactly does it work? Well, the good news is that the deductions are not rigid and sometimes do not apply at all. For example, if the withdrawn horse had long odds and wasn’t viewed as a likely contender to win the race, the bookmaker won’t adjust your winnings at all.
In other cases, deductions are proportionate to the odds and are calculated as a certain number of pence in a pound. The number of pence will depend on the actual odds of the horse that was withdrawn from the race. This rate is universal across the UK, so you can place your bet with any bookmaker you prefer and the same rates will apply. However, remember that the same horse may have been priced differently by different bookmakers, and this will affect which Rule 4 rate it will fall under.
One important thing to remember is that the Rule 4 deductions don’t apply to your stake. If after the withdrawal your winnings are subject to reduction because of this rule, your stake doesn’t change and your winnings aren’t calculated at a reduced stake. Instead, they are calculated based on your actual stake, after which necessary adjustments will be made based on the Rule 4 rates.
Rule 4 Deduction Table (UK Standard)
Below you will find a table that shows any possible deduction made to your winnings under Rule 4. It shows the range of odds, corresponding amount of pence per pound that will be deducted for each range, and the percentage they make.
| Price at Withdrawal | R4 Deduction | Percentage |
| 1/9 or shorter | 90p | 90% |
| 2/11 to 2/17 | 85p | 85% |
| 1/4 to 1/5 | 80p | 80% |
| 3/10 to 2/7 | 75p | 75% |
| 2/5 to 1/3 | 70p | 70% |
| 8/15 to 4/9 | 65p | 65% |
| 8/13 to 4/7 | 60p | 60% |
| 4/5 to 4/6 | 55p | 55% |
| 20/21 to 5/6 | 50p | 50% |
| Evens to 6/5 | 45p | 45% |
| 5/4 to 6/4 | 40p | 40% |
| 8/5 to 7/4 | 35p | 35% |
| 9/5 to 9/4 | 30p | 30% |
| 12/5 to 3/1 | 25p | 25% |
| 16/5 to 4/1 | 20p | 20% |
| 9/2 to 11/2 | 15p | 15% |
| 6/1 to 9/1 | 10p | 10% |
| 10/1 to 14/1 | 5p | 5% |
| Over 14/1 | No deduction | 0% |
Example of a Rule 4 Deduction
Let’s take a look at how exactly your winnings will be calculated in case a horse you didn’t bet on is declared a non-runner in the bet.
You placed £10 on horse A that has 7/2 odds in the bet. Afterwards, horse B that has 5/1 odds was declared a non-runner. If now your horse A wins the race, here is how the winnings calculations will play out.
For your initial odds, you win £7 on each £2 you bet, or otherwise, £3.5 on £1.
£10 (your stake) x 3.5 = £35 (winnings)
£35 + £10 = £45 (total payout)
Since the withdrawn horse B was priced at 5/1, the applicable Rule 4 rate will be 20p in £1, i.e. 20%. As it only applies to your profit and not the initial stake, the calculations will look like this:
£35 (winnings) x 20% = £7 (deduction)
£35 – £7 = £28 (adjusted winnings)
£28 + £10 (initial stake) = £38 (total payout)
How Rule 4 Affects Your Winnings
It is very important to remember that Rule 4 only affects your winnings. If your bet is subject to deductions under Rule 4, only your winnings will be reduced. They will be re-calculated according to the table above, but your stake will be returned to you in full as we showed in the example in the previous section.
So while your overall return on the bet is lower than you would initially expect, it only affects your profit. The stake you placed remains intact and is added to your total payout as is customary with fractional odds.
When Rule 4 Does NOT Apply
We mentioned that if the withdrawn horse had long odds (the threshold is over 14/1), Rule 4 won’t be activated on your winnings because that horse wasn’t seen as a viable contender for the champion title.
However, there are other cases where Rule 4 isn’t applicable to your bet. First and foremost, this includes bets that were placed after the official withdrawal declaration. This is how it works.
Once a horse is withdrawn from the race and the official declaration is made, the odds for other horses to win change. To reflect this, bookmakers recalculate the odds and present them to the betting public. If any bettor would like to place a bet now, they will be doing so under the new odds. As Rule 4 only exists to balance out unjustifiably high odds after the withdrawal, it doesn’t apply to bets made with adjusted odds.
Some bookmakers may waive the 5p deduction, though it is not obligatory. Similarly, Rule 4 doesn’t apply to ante-post bets, but if the horse that was withdrawn from the race is the one you placed your ante-post bet on, you will lose your stake.
And last but not least, tote and exchange bets don’t fall under Rule 4, as it only applies to fixed odds bets.
Rule 4 and Each-Way Bets
Each way bets belong to fixed odds, thus they are also subject to the Rule 4 deductions. Here you must remember that both the win profit and place profit will be adjusted. Both stakes will remain intact, though.
If your horse wins the race after a non-runner triggers deductions, your winnings on both the win and the place bets will be adjusted according to the applicable Rule 4 rate. You will receive reduced winnings plus both your initial stakes.
If your horse is placed under the same circumstances, your win stake will be lost, while your place bet will be adjusted. You will receive reduced place winnings plus your initial place stake.
Rule 4 vs Non-Runner
As we determined, Rule 4 in horse racing is activated only when a horse is declared a non-runner. This may create an understanding that Rule 4 and Non-Runner are effectively the same thing. But while they definitely are connected, these two terms can’t be used interchangeably.
A non-runner is a horse that was withdrawn from the race before the start for any number of reasons. In a certain way, this is the event that triggers Rule 4 into existence.
Rule 4 is applied to bets that were made before a horse was declared a non-runner. It comes as a consequence of the withdrawal.
Not every non-runner will bring about Rule 4 (if they had odds longer than 14/1), so this is another point why these two terms can’t replace each other.
Common Mistakes About Rule 4
This amount of information might initially feel confusing. However, if you pay attention to these points from the start, it will significantly ease your understanding and getting used to how Rule 4 deductions work.
Thinking Rule 4 reduces your stake
Many bettors think Rule 4 will apply (and reduce) to their initial stake. As a result, they calculate their potential winnings incorrectly, setting themselves up for disappointment.
Misunderstanding how deduction percentage is calculated
Another common mistake is to think that deductions are the same across all odds. In reality, they are calculated based on the odds the withdrawn horse had in the race and are different for different odds ranges. Because of this, bettors may expect a return that is either too high or too low than what they will actually be eligible for.
Ignoring the timing of your bet
Application of Rule 4 will greatly depend on when you placed your bet. Ante-post bets aren’t subject to Rule 4 deductions and neither are bets placed after the official withdrawal declaration.
In case there are multiple withdrawals, deductions from your winnings will depend on when exactly your bet was made. If you placed your wager before the first withdrawal, all subsequent withdrawals will apply to you but they will be calculated differently.
For example, if you placed a bet on horse A, and then horse B was declared a non-runner, your winnings on horse A will be subject to deduction. At the same time, the market will be reformed and now horse A will have different (reduced) odds for all new bets. If afterwards horse C is also withdrawn from the race before it starts, you will additionally be subject to another deduction, but this time it will be calculated based on the reformed odds horse A has, not the initial ones.
If you placed your bet after the first withdrawal and market reform and later another horse was declared a non-runner, you will only be subject to deductions applicable to the subsequent withdrawal.
FAQ
How is Rule 4 calculated?
If Rule 4 applies to your bet, the amount of deduction is calculated as a certain amount of pence on a pound of winnings. The actual amount of pence will depend on the odds of the withdrawn horse and is universal across the UK. You can see the rates in the article above.
Does Rule 4 affect my stake?
No, the Rule 4 deductions only apply to your winnings. They will be calculated based on your actual stake but then the corresponding adjustment will be made based on the Rule 4 rates.
Can multiple Rule 4 deductions apply?
Yes, if several horses are withdrawn from the race, each will trigger its own Rule 4 deductions that accumulate. If you placed your bet before the first withdrawal, your winnings will be subject to all subsequent deductions. If you placed your wager after some of the withdrawals were made, you will only be subject to subsequent deductions.
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