What Is the Dead Heat Rule in Betting?

In most races and competitions, there's a winner. Occasionally, there isn't. Not a clear one, anyway.

When two or more participants finish in exactly the same position and cannot be separated, a dead heat is declared. It's one of those outcomes that can catch bettors off guard the first time it happens, so here's what you need to know about how it works and what it means for your bet.

How does a dead heat happen?

A dead heat occurs when two or more competitors finish in exactly the same position and cannot be separated by the result alone. That could be horses crossing a line, players finishing a golf tournament on the same score, or a goalscorer market where multiple players have scored the same number of goals in a competition.

It can happen in horse racing when multiple horses simultaneously cross the line, in golf when players finish a tournament tied on the same score, or in football when multiple players end a season level on goals in a top goalscorer market.

It's worth noting that dead heat rules only apply where the draw isn't already included in the market. So, if you've backed a draw in a match result market, that's a different outcome entirely. Dead heat rules don't come into play there.

At Bally Bet, if two or more participants share a finishing position and no odds have been offered for a drawn outcome, dead heat rules apply.

The payout is calculated as: Stake x (Odds ÷ Number of Participants Sharing the Position).

Your payout will always be at least equal to your stake in these situations, with the exception of head-to-head markets. Full details can be found in Section B, paragraphs 2.5 and 5.19 of our Terms and Conditions.

How does a dead heat pay out?

When a dead heat is declared, your stake is divided by the number of selections involved in the tie, and that reduced stake is then applied to your odds.

Look at it this way: two horses win a race, but you only backed one of them. Only a proportional part of your bet gets treated as a winner. For a two-way dead heat, your stake is halved. For a three-way dead heat, it's divided by three, and so on.

A straightforward example:

• You back a horse at 10/1 with a £10 stake. It dead-heats with one other horse

• Your effective stake is halved to £5

• £5 at 10/1 returns £50, plus your £5 stake back

• Total return: £55, rather than the £110 you'd have collected outright

The odds themselves don't change. It's the stake that takes the hit.

How dead heats work with each-way bets

Each-way bets follow the same logic, but you need to apply it separately to the win part and the place part of your bet.

It's worth noting that a dead heat doesn't always affect an each-way bet. If two horses finish in a dead heat for second place and your each-way terms cover a top-four finish, both positions still fall within the place terms. So, your bet is settled on a full winning stake at the applicable fraction of the odds, with no dead heat reduction applied.

Where it can affect your bet is when the dead heat involves a position at the edge of the place terms. Say three horses finish level for third in a race paying each-way to four places. Two of those three positions fall within the terms, one doesn't, so two thirds of your stake is settled as a winner at the place odds, and one third returns nothing.

The more runners involved in the dead heat, and the closer they finish to the edge of the place terms in question, the greater the impact on your return.

What happens in a dead heat in horse racing?

Keep in mind that dead heats in horse racing are rare. The photo finish technology used at modern racecourses is sophisticated enough to separate horses in the vast majority of cases. But they do happen, and when they do, the settlement process follows the rules outlined above.

One of the more memorable horse racing dead heats came at Aintree in 1977, when Monksfield and Night Nurse - both dual Champion Hurdle winners - crossed the line together in the Aintree Hurdle. It remains one of the most iconic moments the sport has produced, a fitting result between two of the great hurdlers of their era.

More recently, the Grade 1 2022 Jewson Anniversary 4-y-o Juvenile Hurdle at Aintree produced a dramatic finish of a different kind. Knight Salute and Pied Piper initially dead-heated, but a stewards' inquiry was called following interference at the final jump: Pied Piper had strayed into the path of Knight Salute - pushing jockey Paddy Brennan to the left of their line for three strides – but Knight Salute still managed to hit the front on the run-in and pass the post level with Pied Piper.

After the inquiry, the race was awarded to Knight Salute, making it one of the more unusual resolutions to what appeared to be a dead heat.

Dead heats at the Grand National

Given the size of the Grand National field (down from a maximum of 40 to 34 this year, but still a considerable number), you might expect dead heats to be a recurring feature. In reality, they're extremely rare.

A dead heat for the win at Aintree's showpiece has never been recorded, though the 2012 renewal came as close as the race has seen, when Neptune Collonges and Sunnyhillboy crossed the line together before a photo finish separated them by the narrowest of margins.

The nature of the race, with its challenging fences, attrition rate and the way the field spreads out over four miles and more than two furlongs, means runners tend to finish quite apart from one another.

That said, dead heat rules can still come into play for place and each-way betting if runners finish level for the third, fourth or fifth positions, so it's worth keeping in mind if you're contemplating an each-way approach for the race.

Dead heats in golf betting

Golf is where dead heats appear most frequently, and where the settlement rules can get a little more involved.

Because tournaments often pay out each-way terms across several places, a dead heat can affect how those places are divided among tied players.

The Masters is a good example. Markets for the top 10 finishing positions are available, and with around 8-12 places on offer, ties at the cut-off point are not uncommon. A dead heat for fifth in a top-five market, for instance, would see the standard dead heat reduction applied to any qualifying bets.

The key principle is the same: your stake is reduced in proportion to the number of players involved in the tie, but the number of places remaining in the market matters too.

If an each-way bet is placed at a quarter of the odds for three places, and three players tie for the final remaining place, your stake is reduced to a third. If two places remain and three players are tied, your stake is reduced to two-thirds. The odds you took remain unchanged; it’s the stake that's adjusted, not the price.

Given that stroke play tournaments routinely produce large groups of players finishing on the same score, particularly for minor places, dead heats are a regular feature of golf settlement. It's one of the reasons each-way terms and field size are significant when assessing value in outright golf markets.

Key dead heat betting takeaways

Dead heats are one of those betting outcomes that can seem complicated at first but follow a consistent, straightforward logic once you understand the principle.

Your stake is divided by the number of tied selections, and that reduced stake is settled at your original odds. The rarer the event - as in horse racing - the less likely you are to encounter one, but in markets like golf outrights or top goalscorer bets, they're a more regular part of settlement.

Dead heats are rare, but when they happen, the maths matters. Now you know how it works. And if you ever want to talk through a settlement on your account, our team is always on hand to help.

If you would like to read more straightforward betting explainers, head over to the Bally Bet blog, which we update regularly with the latest sports betting and online casino information.

All offers mentioned correct at the time of writing but may be subject to change.