How do Non-Runners Affect Your Horse Racing Bets

In racing, a non-runner is a horse scheduled to take part in a race but doesn’t start. The point at which a horse is withdrawn doesn’t matter with regard to its status. It will be described as a non-runner if it pulled out one week or one hour before a race. However, the timing does matter from a betting perspective, as we’ll explain later in this guide.

Why do Non-runners in Horse Racing Exist?

If you are looking to improve your knowledge of how to bet on horse racing online, then you should ready yourself for the ugly truth that your pick might not even participate. A horse could be withdrawn from a race for a number of reasons.

Sometimes it’s through the choice of an owner, trainer or jockey. Sometimes it’s because of unforeseen circumstances that are not clear until the time of the race. Common reasons for a horse not running include:

⏩ An injury to the horse

⏩ The horse is distressed before the race

⏩ The running conditions aren’t suitable

How Do Non-Runners Affect Horse Racing Bets?

The timing of when a horse pulls out of a race won’t affect its status. In other words, a withdrawal is always known as a non-runner. However, horse racing non-runners will affect the bets you make. If the horse withdraws before the race is declared, you lose your stake.

However, if the race has been declared and your horse is withdrawn, you’ll receive your stake back. Finally, a horse racing non-runner may affect your bet even if you didn’t select it. Basically, if a horse is withdrawn from a race, it will affect the odds of the remaining runners. These are known in the industry as Rule 4 Deductions.

Exceptions to Non-runner Returns?

In general, non-runner horse racing bets are returned if the race has been declared. A race is considered declared at 10 am two days before it is scheduled. However, there are two situations where the rules differ:

• 1
  If the bet was made before the race is declared, it’s known as an ante-post bet. In this situation, bets on non-runners will be lost. 
• 2
  If the non-runner is part of a multiple/accumulator bet, the wager still stands. However, that race is removed from the accumulator and, therefore, the potential returns will decrease. 
• 3
  The same applies to exotic and pool wagers, such as the placepot, where you must pick multiple horses. For more info on what is a placepot bet, follow our detailed guide. 

What Does Pulled Up Mean in Horse Racing?

When a horse pulls up, it means it started but didn’t finish the race. In horse racing betting terminology, the runner would be classed as a 'non-finisher'. The important thing to note here is that this classification is different from horse racing non-runners. Horse non-runners didn’t start the race.

Therefore, if you bet on one after the race was declared, you’d receive your money back. In the case of non-finishers (horses that pull up), you lose your bet. In contrast, a non-runner can also be called a withdrawal because they were withdrawn from the line-up before the race started.

What are the Measures to Reduce Non-runners?

Racing authorities are constantly coming up with new ways to reduce the number of non-runners in racing since it is a problem for event organizers and participants. However, unless they had an injury, horses themselves are not to be blamed.

Understanding how jockeys and trainers affect your bets is more critical, as they are the ones to decide to pull a horse from the race. For this reason, organizers are always looking for ways to reduce the problem. Some of the common measures for limiting the impact of non-runners are:

✔️ 48-hour declarations: Trainers have two days before the start of the race to declare one of their horses as a non-runner

✔️ Trainers with more than 100 declarations and a non-runner rate of 50% or greater will be banned from self-certificating their horses as fit for 12 months

✔️ Stewards to investigate runners declared fit but withdrawn due to ground conditions when the horse has previously run on the identical ground

✔️ Any horse declared as a non-runner will not be able to race for two days following a withdrawal

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