How does all-in betting work?

All-In betting involves a bookmaker offering fixed odds on selected feature races prior to the final field being declared. 

Most of the big Group One horse racing events have All-In betting available months in advance and bookmakers such as Sportsbet offer All-In betting on them.

When placing bets on a normal race, if your runner is scratched from an event, you will receive a refund for your bet as Final Field rules apply. This is not the case with All-In betting.

The following is a summary of the definition of an All-In bet according to Sportsbet.

"Future racing prices may be offered at fixed odds for races where the final field hasn’t been declared. 

"Bets made on an event before the final field has been declared are classified as All-In bets. This means that if your selected runner doesn’t compete in the specified race that you placed the bet on, your bet will be resulted as a loss, unless stated otherwise."

Our racing editor Justin Darcy had a 2019 to remember with his all-in betting.

Our Victorian tipster was able to get Warning at $51 in the Victorian Derby and $26 on Mer De Glacé in the Caulfield Cup. Both horses started significantly shorter on race day, highlighting just how lucative all-in betting can be.

If you place a wager on a horse in an All-In market but the horse doesn’t run in that race, your bet will be counted as a loss.

This is why all-in betting is risker than fixed odds betting and part of the reason why the odds are above what you'll see once declarations are made.