The lucky fifteen

© Clarence Alford (Fotolia) race horses
© Clarence Alford (Fotolia)

For British horse racing enthusiasts the Lucky Fifteen has become quite a popular bet with all of the established bookmakers such as Ladbrokes, Corals and William Hill.

Quite simply, four horses are selected from that day’s race meetings, but within those selections are 15 bets. There are four singles, six doubles, four trebles, and one four horse accumulator. Normally, if all four selections win a 10% bonus is added to the winnings.

However, whereas the traditional four horse yankee bet did not allow for single bets, the bookmakers vie for custom with the bonuses for one winning selection on Lucky Fifteens.

In the yankee bet, if there is only one winning selection, there are no winnings. In the Lucky Fifteen, although you are paying extra in stake money for the single bets, the bookmakers can offer double or treble the odds on the sole winner on the bet.

In some cases, where there is fierce competition on the High Street for custom, it has has been known for four times the odds being offered.

These multiple bets are very common at weekends when there are more horse race meetings taking place.