What is an each-way bet and why is it popular for the Grand National?

An each-way bet is two bets in one: a win bet and a place bet, at equal stakes. If your horse wins, both parts pay out. If it finishes in a specified place position without winning, only the place part pays — at a fraction of the full odds, typically 1/4 or 1/5. For the Grand National, each-way betting is popular because the large field of 34 runners means bookmakers offer extended place terms, often paying out on five or six places. With 82% of Grand National bets being £5 or less, each-way gives casual punters a realistic possibility of a return even when their horse does not win. The nation's punt has always been an each-way affair.

How many places are bookmakers paying on the Grand National 2026?

Place terms vary by bookmaker and can change in the run-up to the race, so checking closer to the event is essential. Standard terms for the Grand National are four places at 1/4 odds, but most major operators enhance them for this race to attract once-a-year customers. Enhanced offers typically range from five places at 1/4 odds to six places at 1/5 odds, with the most generous operators occasionally offering six places at 1/4 odds. Compare at least three bookmakers before placing your each-way bet for 2026. The difference between four and six places can mean the difference between losing your stake and collecting a return.

How do I place a bet on the Grand National online — step by step?

Choose a bookmaker licensed by the UK Gambling Commission — look for the licence number in the site's footer. Register with your name, date of birth and address, and verify your identity (most operators run automated checks). Deposit funds using a debit card, bank transfer or e-wallet — credit cards cannot be used for UK gambling. Navigate to the Grand National market under the horse racing section, click the odds next to your chosen horse, select win only or each-way in the bet slip, enter your stake, review the details, and confirm. The process takes under ten minutes. If you prefer betting in person, visit any high-street betting shop, fill in a paper slip and hand it to the cashier with your money.

What Is an Each-Way Bet? A Beginner’s Explanation with Grand National Examples

If you have ever heard someone at the office say “I’ll have a fiver each way on that one,” and nodded along while quietly wondering what on earth they meant, this is the page for you. The each-way bet is one of the most popular wagers in British horse racing — and nowhere is it more widely used than on the Grand National, where roughly 13 million people across the country place a bet every April. For most of them, each-way is the default choice.

The concept is simpler than it sounds. An each-way bet is, at its core, two bets in one. One half backs your horse to win the race; the other half backs it to finish in one of the designated place positions. If your horse wins, both halves pay out. If it finishes in a place but does not win, you lose the win part but still collect on the place part. If it finishes outside the places, you lose everything. That is the entire mechanism — and once you understand it, the rest is just detail.

Your Each-Way Bet Broken Down: Win Part and Place Part

Let us start with the basics. When you place an each-way bet, you are actually placing two separate bets of equal value. If you bet £5 each way, your total outlay is £10 — £5 on the win and £5 on the place. This is a point that catches some beginners off guard: the “each way” part means each way gets its own stake.

The win part is straightforward. If your horse finishes first, the bookmaker pays out at the full advertised odds. So if you back a horse at 10/1 for £5, and it wins, you receive £50 in profit plus your £5 stake back — £55 in total from that half of the bet.

The place part works differently. The bookmaker pays out at a fraction of the win odds — typically one quarter (1/4) or one fifth (1/5), depending on the race and the number of runners. For the Grand National, most bookmakers pay at 1/4 odds for the first four or five places, though some extend their place terms further as a promotional offer. So if your horse finishes in a place position at 10/1 with 1/4 odds, the place part pays at 10/4 — which is 2.5/1. Your £5 place bet returns £12.50 in profit plus the £5 stake, giving you £17.50.

Here is where it gets interesting. According to Entain’s data from the 2026 Grand National, 82% of in-shop bets were for £5 or less, with fewer than one in a hundred exceeding £20. The each-way bet is perfectly suited to this audience. A £2 each-way bet — a total of £4 — gives you two chances to collect a return on a horse priced at big odds. In a race with 34 runners and prices ranging from 5/1 to 100/1, that safety net of the place component is what makes each-way betting the natural choice for casual punters.

The combined payout on an each-way winner can be substantial. Take a £5 each-way bet on a horse at 20/1 with 1/4 odds and four places. If the horse wins, you collect £100 profit on the win part plus £25 profit on the place part — a total of £125 profit from a £10 total stake. If it places but does not win, you still collect that £25 profit on the place part, which covers your original £10 outlay and leaves you £15 ahead. Two bets in one, and both with clearly defined outcomes.

Place Fractions: What 1/4 and 1/5 Odds Really Mean

The place fraction is the number that determines how much the place part of your each-way bet pays out. It is expressed as a fraction of the full win odds, and it varies depending on the type of race and, in some cases, the bookmaker’s promotional terms.

For most Grand National betting, the standard place fraction is 1/4 of the win odds. This means the place component pays at one quarter of the full price. If a horse is 20/1 to win, the place part pays at 20/4 — which simplifies to 5/1. If the horse is 8/1, the place part pays at 8/4, or 2/1. The fraction applies to the odds, not to your stake — your stake remains the same regardless.

In some races with fewer runners — handicaps with eight to fifteen runners, for example — the standard place fraction drops to 1/5 of the win odds, and only the first three finishers qualify as places. For the Grand National, with its field of 34, the 1/4 fraction and four or more place positions are the norm.

Some bookmakers offer enhanced place terms as a promotional tool for the Grand National. You might see “1/4 odds for the first six places” or even “1/4 odds for the first eight places” in the weeks before the race. These offers are specifically designed to attract casual punters who want an extra safety margin. The more places a bookmaker pays, the better your chance of collecting on the place component — but the advertised win odds may be slightly shorter to compensate. It is always worth comparing the complete package: odds, number of places and fraction.

A quick way to calculate the place return in your head: take the fractional win odds, divide the first number by the denominator of the fraction, and that gives you the place odds. For a horse at 16/1 with a 1/4 fraction, the place odds are 16 divided by 4, which is 4 — so 4/1. For a horse at 33/1 with a 1/4 fraction, the place odds are 33 divided by 4, which is 8.25 — so 8.25/1, or roughly 33/4. The numbers are simple enough once you get the pattern.

When an Each-Way Bet Makes Sense at the Grand National

Not every race is suited to each-way betting. In a six-runner novice hurdle, where only two places are paid at 1/5 odds, the value in the place component is often thin. But the Grand National is the ideal each-way race. The field is large — 34 runners — and the outcome is inherently unpredictable. Horses fall, jockeys make mistakes, the pace can change in a heartbeat at Becher’s Brook. In that kind of race, backing a horse solely to win feels like a coin toss with the odds stacked against you.

Each-way betting is particularly attractive when you fancy a horse at a longer price. If you back a 25/1 shot each way and it finishes fourth, you still collect at 25/4 — a 6.25/1 return on the place part that more than covers your total stake. The win part is gone, but you walk away in profit. That dynamic is what makes each-way the default mode for Grand National punters, from the seasoned form reader to the person picking purely by the colour of the jockey’s silks.

It also makes sense when the place terms are generous. If a bookmaker is paying five or six places at 1/4 odds, the place component becomes significantly easier to land, and the overall expected return of the each-way bet improves. In those situations, the each-way bet is not just a safety net — it is a genuine value play.

There are situations where each-way is less useful. If you are backing a short-priced favourite — say, 4/1 — the place return at 1/4 odds is just evens (1/1), and you need the horse to win for the bet to feel worthwhile. For strong fancies at short prices, a win-only bet concentrates your stake more efficiently. But for the typical Grand National punt — a horse somewhere between 10/1 and 40/1 — each-way is the format that gives you two bets in one, and the best chance of leaving the day with a profit rather than a story about “the one that nearly won.”