Why are the odds for place and show bets shown as “average” odds?
Place and show odds are “average” odds because the odds that will be paid out depends on what combination of players that finish in the money. When calculating the payouts for place and show bets, the first thing that is done is that money is taken out of the total pool of bets for that bet type to cover giving each winning bettor his or her money back. The remainder is then divided up as winnings. If one of the favorites comes in along with the player that you bet on, your payoff will be less than the “average” odds shown. That is because more money is used out of the pool to pay the bets back to each winning bettor and less is available to divide up as the winnings. Conversely, if a long-shot comes in along with the racer that you bet on, then your payoff will be better than the “average” odds because less will be used to pay back bet amounts and more will be available to distribute as winnings.
