Horse Racing Lucky 15 Betting Explained

A Lucky 15 is a multiple bet made up of four selections. Unlike an accumulator, you don’t need all four selections to win to get a return, because the bet is split into 15 separate bets:

• 4 Singles

• 6 Doubles

• 4 Trebles

• 1 Four-fold Accumulator

Because you are placing 15 bets at once, your stake is multiplied by 15.

Example

25p Lucky 15 = £3.75 total stake

25p E/W Lucky 15 = £7.50 total stake

This is why Lucky 15s are popular in horse racing, as they’re great value for money, not needing all four selections to win for a return.

Best Bookmakers For Lucky 15 Betting

How to Place a Lucky 15 Bet

Using the example image below, we can see that the potential return of the bet looks promising at £351.94.

However, this payout is based on the accumulator part of your Lucky 15 and requires all four of your selections to win.

This return will decrease considerably when/if your first selection loses, as you now cannot win the accumulator part of your Lucky 15 and are relying on the trebles, doubles and singles for your return.

How to Calculate Lucky 15 Winnings

Calculating the return for a lucky 15 can be extremely confusing for new bettors, given the different permutations of the bet but again, using the example betting slip above, we can break this down and calculate selections individually.

If Talis Evolvere and Archangel Josepi both won and the other two lost, you have effectively won three bets. 2 x 25p singles and 1 x 25p double.

Singles

£0.25 × 6.0 = £1.50

£0.25 × 6.0 = £1.50

Singles return = £3.00

Double

Multiply the odds:

6.0 × 6.0 = 36.0

£0.25 × 36 = £9.00

Total Return

£3.00 + £9.00 = £12.00

Rather than the hassle of working these out in the heat of battle on a Saturday afternoon, there are online Lucky 15 calculators where you can update your runners race by race, so you know exactly what position you are looking at heading into every race.

When To Use a Horse Racing Lucky 15

A Lucky 15 works best when you have four strong fancies across a racecard or multiple meetings that are priced medium to high in odds. Backing higher prices in your lucky 15 and factoring in each-way with your Lucky 15’s is a great way to get the thrill of a potentially huge payout from a small stake bet, with the backup of returning a profit if all four of your selections place.

For example, a 25p E/W Lucky 15 (£7.50 stake) with all four runners priced at 10/1 would return £5,247.50 if they all won.

If they fail to win but place, you will return £63.75, which is still a great return from a £7.50 bet.

Win v Each-Way Lucky 15

Deciding whether to go straight win or bring each-way into play depends entirely on the odds of the selections you are selecting. Horses that are strong in the betting, usually 5/1 or less, would warrant a win Lucky 15, and selections that are on the larger side odds-wise would be better off each-way, as you have the security of the selections placing and still returning a profit.

A Lucky 15 sits neatly between singles and accumulators, offering both protection and potential. You don’t need a perfect four-timer to get paid. One winner can return money, two can produce profit, and three or four can generate a substantial payout.

This is what makes it appealing to everyday race bettors, as it’s generally a low-risk, high-reward bet and a sensible way to enjoy racing.

Horse Racing Bookmaker Features

As well as Lucky 15 betting betting, there is a wide range of additional bookmaker features and markets for horse racing, including:

➡️ bet365 Best Odds Guaranteed
➡️ bet365 Position Payout
➡️ bet365 Acca Boost
➡️ How to Bet Each-Way on Horse Racing
➡️ How to Bet on Ante-Post Markets
➡️ How to Bet on Handicap Races