The Betfair place market (To Be Placed) lets you back or lay a horse to finish in the paying places. Betfair sets the place count by field size — roughly 2 places for 5–7 runners, 3 for 8–15, 4 for 16+ — and you build each-way exposure by backing both the win and place markets yourself. Place prices are steadier than win prices but carry less liquidity. Always read the market header for the place terms.
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The Betfair place market — listed as "To Be Placed" — lets you back or lay a horse to finish in the places rather than to win, and it is the exchange's answer to the bookmaker each-way bet. This is a sub of our complete Betfair markets guide, and the place market is one of the most under-used tools in horse racing: it is steadier than the win market, it lets you build synthetic each-way positions the exchange does not offer natively, and it gives you a second instrument to hedge a win trade. Here is exactly how it works and how I trade it.
What the Betfair place market is
The To Be Placed market is a separate market alongside the standard win market on most horse races, where the selection wins your bet if the horse finishes in the paying places. Betfair sets the number of places by field size, and crucially it is not always the same as a bookmaker's each-way terms: Betfair frequently offers its own place number, and on big handicaps it runs additional "extra place" markets. You back a horse to place at a price, or you lay it — betting it will not finish in the places — exactly as you would in any other exchange market, and the price moves on the same money-driven basis.
The standard Betfair place terms run with the size of the field. As a rule of thumb the market pays 2 places for fields of roughly 5 to 7 runners, 3 places for around 8 to 15, and 4 places for big-field handicaps of 16 or more. Always check the market header before you trade, because the place count is the single most important number in the market — it sets the entire price structure, and it can differ from the bookmaker each-way terms you may be used to.
Place markets vs each-way betting
An each-way bet with a bookmaker is two bets in one: half your stake on the win, half on the place at a fraction of the odds (commonly 1/5 or 1/4). Betfair does not offer a native each-way bet on the exchange, but you can build the same exposure yourself by backing the horse in both the win market and the place market, in whatever ratio you choose. That is more flexible than a fixed each-way: you decide how much goes on the win and how much on the place, and you take the live exchange place price rather than a bookmaker's fixed each-way fraction.
This synthetic approach is the foundation of a lot of each-way matched betting and, in particular, of chasing extra place offers, where a bookmaker pays an extra place that the exchange place market does not. For a deeper treatment of building these positions as a trading strategy rather than a matched-betting play, see each-way trading on the exchange. The point for now is simple: the place market is the exchange's building block for any each-way exposure, and because you control the split you can weight it toward whichever outcome you actually fancy.
Why the place market is steadier than the win market
Place prices move less violently than win prices because finishing in the first three or four is a far more probable, and far more stable, outcome than winning. A horse that gets badly hampered at halfway can lose all chance of winning — its win price collapses out to 50 or longer — while still being a live place chance, so its place price barely flinches. That relative stability makes the place market a calmer place to trade for anyone who finds the win market's in-running swings too brutal, and it makes the place market a natural hedging instrument for a win position you already hold.
The trade-off is liquidity. Place markets carry less money than the win market on the same race, so spreads are wider and large stakes are harder to get matched cleanly. Before committing to a place trade, check the market depth — on a Saturday handicap at a major meeting the place market may be deep enough to trade properly, while a midweek seller at a minor track can be too thin to bother with.
How to trade the place market
You trade the place market the same way you trade any exchange market — back low, lay high, or lay high then back low — but the rhythm is different. Pre-race, place prices on well-backed runners tend to firm steadily as money arrives, which suits a straightforward back-to-lay swing: back the place early, lay it back shorter as the price firms, green the position before the off. In-running, the place market is where you can take a view on a horse that is travelling well but may not get up to win — it will place comfortably even if it is caught on the line, so the place price holds while the win price evaporates.
The other core use is hedging. If you have backed a horse to win and it shortens, you can lock part of the profit by laying it in the place market rather than the win market, which is useful when the win market has gone thin in-running but the place market still has money. The two markets are correlated but not identical, so this is a judgement call, not a free hedge — but it is a tool worth having when the win market dries up at the worst moment.
The race: a competitive 14-runner Saturday handicap at Ascot. With 14 runners the To Be Placed market paid 3 places. I had identified a well-handicapped runner that the morning market was beginning to support, trading around 3.6 to be placed roughly 35 minutes before the off.
The read: the horse was clearly being backed in the win market — its win price had come from 9.0 into 7.0 — and that support almost always drags the place price in with it. I judged the place price would firm from 3.6 toward 3.0 as the off approached and the money kept coming.
The trade: I backed the To Be Placed at 3.6 for £60. Over the next 25 minutes the win price held its support and the place price firmed exactly as expected, reaching 3.0 with five minutes to go. I layed £72 at 3.0 to green the position evenly across all outcomes.
The result: backing £60 at 3.6 and laying £72 at 3.0 locked roughly £12 of profit spread across the whole market before commission — a clean pre-race swing settled before the stalls opened, with no in-running risk taken at all. On a 5% commission rate that left a little over £11 net.
The lesson: the place price follows the win money, but more slowly and more steadily. When you can see a horse being supported in the win market with time still on the clock, the place market often hands you the same move with far less volatility — a gentler, more repeatable version of a pre-race swing.
Extra-place markets and big handicaps
On the showpiece handicaps — the big Saturday races, the Cheltenham and Aintree festival handicaps, the Ebor — Betfair often runs an additional "extra place" market that pays one more place than the standard terms, sitting alongside the regular To Be Placed market. These are worth knowing about for two reasons. First, when bookmakers are advertising extra-place each-way concessions on the same race, the exchange extra-place market is exactly where you lay off the place leg of a matched bet, and the relationship between the bookmaker's extra place and Betfair's is the entire edge in that play. Second, the extra-place exchange markets are usually thinner again than the standard place market, so they reward patience: post your order and let the money come to you rather than crossing a wide spread. The big-field handicaps are also where the place market is most genuinely competitive to trade in its own right, because a 20-runner handicap with four or five places paying produces a deep, fluid market that the win market's volatility cannot match.
How place markets settle: dead heats and non-runners
Two settlement quirks catch out new place-market traders, and both can change your return after the race. The first is the dead heat: if two or more horses dead-heat for the last paying place, the place is shared, and your winnings on a backed place are reduced proportionally — effectively you are paid out on a fraction of your stake at the full price. It feels like being short-changed, but it is the mathematically fair treatment of a shared position, and it is identical to how dead heats work in bookmaker each-way settlement.
The second is the non-runner. If a horse is withdrawn before the off, the field shrinks, and that can change the number of places the market pays — a 16-runner field paying 4 places that loses enough runners can revert to 3 places. Betfair adjusts the market and may apply a reduction factor to prices. Always re-check the place terms after any late withdrawal, because the market you entered may not be the market that settles.
Common mistakes in the place market
The errors I see most often start with assuming the place terms. Traders glance at a field and guess the place count rather than reading the market header, then are baffled when the result settles differently — especially after a non-runner shifts the terms. The second is over-staking in thin liquidity: the place market looks like the win market but carries far less money, so a stake that fills instantly in the win market can sit unmatched, or move the price against you, in the place market. The third is treating the place hedge as risk-free — the win and place markets are correlated but distinct, and laying the place to cover a win bet is a judgement, not a guaranteed lock. Read the header, size to the liquidity, and respect that the two markets are not the same instrument.
The verdict
The Betfair place market is the exchange's most under-used horse racing tool. It is steadier than the win market, it is the building block for any synthetic each-way position, and it gives you a second instrument to hedge or to take a view on a horse that will run well without winning. The catches are real — thinner liquidity, place terms that change with the field, and dead-heat settlement — so read the market header every time, check the depth before you commit, and size your stakes to the money that is actually there. Used with that discipline, the place market hands you a calmer, more repeatable version of horse racing trading than the win market ever will.
FAQ
How many places does the Betfair place market pay?
Betfair sets the place count by field size. As a rule of thumb it pays 2 places for roughly 5–7 runners, 3 places for 8–15, and 4 places for big-field handicaps of 16 or more. On major handicaps Betfair also runs extra-place markets. Always check the market header, because the count can differ from bookmaker each-way terms and can change after a non-runner.
Does Betfair offer each-way betting on the exchange?
Not natively. There is no single each-way bet on the exchange, but you can replicate one by backing a horse in both the win market and the To Be Placed market in whatever ratio you choose. That is more flexible than a fixed each-way because you control the split between win and place and take the live exchange place price.
Is the place market less volatile than the win market?
Yes. Finishing in the places is a more probable and more stable outcome than winning, so place prices move less violently. A horse hampered in running can see its win price collapse while its place price barely moves. The trade-off is that place markets carry less liquidity, so spreads are wider and big stakes are harder to match.
How are dead heats settled in the place market?
If two or more horses dead-heat for the last paying place, the place is shared and a backed place bet is paid out on a reduced fraction of the stake at the full price. It is the same fair treatment used in bookmaker each-way settlement — you are effectively paid on part of your stake.
What happens to place markets if there is a non-runner?
A withdrawal shrinks the field, which can reduce the number of paying places — a 16-runner market paying 4 places can revert to 3 if enough runners come out. Betfair adjusts the market and may apply a reduction factor. Always re-check the place terms after any late non-runner.
Can I hedge a win bet using the place market?
Yes, but it is a judgement, not a guaranteed lock. If you have backed a horse to win and it shortens, you can take profit by laying it in the place market — useful when the win market goes thin in-running but the place market still holds money. The two markets are correlated but not identical, so the hedge is imperfect.
Related reading
This sits under the complete Betfair markets guide. Build each-way exposure with each-way trading on the exchange, and see the matched-betting angles in each-way matched betting and extra place offers. Understand the related markets via the win market and every market explained, check market depth, apply swing trading, and pull it together in the horse racing trading mastery guide.
Place markets carry less liquidity than win markets, so stakes can sit unmatched or move the price against you, and place terms can change after a non-runner. Hedging a win bet via the place market is a judgement, not a risk-free lock. Most Betfair traders lose overall. Read the market header every time and size to the money actually queued. Past results don't guarantee future returns. 18+ only; help at BeGambleAware.org.
Read the place terms, check the depth, and trade the place market as the steadier cousin of the win market.
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