What is a Heinz Bet in Horse Racing? – Heinz Bets Explained
The Heinz bet is a popular type of bet available on horse racing markets. More sophisticated than win singles or each-way bets, the Heinz provides comprehensive coverage covering doubles, trebles, and more.
What is a Heinz Bet?
A Heinz a full cover wager that combines 57 separate bets spread across six selections. All in all, you get 15 doubles, 20 trebles, 15 four-folds, 6 five-folds, and 1 six-fold accumulator. One of the best things about placing a Heinz with our horse racing tips that you need only two of your selections to win to see some returns.
With so many bets running in a Heinz, the more winners you pick the greater your potential profit. When compared to straight accumulators – where just one loser can sink your entire wagers – the Heinz horse racing betting option is slightly safer.
How Does a Heinz Bet Work in Horse Racing?
The Heinz works by making six selections on horse racing. These six selections then create 57 bets with each one carrying a unit stake combines to create a total stake. If you place a £1 Heinz, you’re looking at a total outlay of £57.
This full cover wager automatically runs your six selected horses in every possible combination of two or more. Here’s the complete breakdown of what you get
- 15 doubles
- 20 trebles
- 15 four-folds
- 6 five-folds
- 1 sixfold accumulator
You can consider this bet as something of a balance between risk and reward. While all six horses winning would lead to considerable returns, you may still make a profit with 3 wins. Above all else, you’re guaranteed to see some money back with just a couple of winners, which is a big positive.
Heinz Bet Example
This example of a Heinz bet in horse racing illustrates how things work. Firstly, you start off by selecting six horses from different races. You don’t need to choose horses from the same meeting or day, however.
Here’s an example of six horses competing in different races on the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival.
- Slade Steel 7/2
- Gaelic Warrior 2/1
- Chianti Classico 6/1
- State Man 2/5
- Lossiemouth 8/13
- Lark in the Mornin 9/1
If you place a £1 per line Heinz bet (£57) and all six horses win in your steeplechase selections, you are paid out as a winner for each individual bet. This means total returns of £12,123.61, inclusive of winnings of 12,066.61 and your stake (£57).
That’s the ideal scenario. If you land the first three above as winners, you would receive £160.50 with a total profit of £103.50. But if only Slade Steel and Gaelic Warrior win, you still get £13.50 back and end with losses of £43.50 in this Heinz bet example.
How to Place a Heinz Bet on Horse Racing
The easiest way to place a Heinz bet is online, although you can also place them in betting shops. Online bookies make things much easier, however, as their betting software means you just need to select six horses and place your stake.
- Choose a safe and secure horse racing betting site and create an account.
- Head over to the horse racing section to view which meetings you can bet on.
- Add your selections and accompanying horse racing odds to your online betting slip.
- Select the Heinz option from the multiple bet options.
- Type in your stake per line and when satisfied confirm your bet and watch the races
You can sometimes claim betting offers that can be used as or with bet stakes for Heinz wagers and other full cover bets. But not all online betting sites will allow you to do this.
Where to Place a Heinz Bet Explained
Most online bookmakers allow you to place Heinz wagers. We recommend betting with sports betting sites that have a horse racing focus and provide a safe place to bet.
Sites like Spreadex, Betfred, and Paddy Power are good options. These and similar bookie sites for horse racing have several bet options as well as bet offers you could use to try out a Heinz or other wagers.
Heinz Bet Pros and Cons
You can place Heinz bets at most major bookmakers. Just remember to look for the most competitive odds when Heinz betting, as better prices mean higher returns.
There are, however, key advantages and disadvantages to consider before betting a Heinz.
- Potential profit can be sizeable
- You receive some form of return if just 2 selections win
- Not as risky as a straight accumulator
- Easiest way to cover 57 different bets
- 57x unit stake can make Heinz bets expensive
- Lower returns for a clean sweep when compared to a straight acca
- No singles included in the bet type
- May require 3 winners to turn a profit
Heinz bets can be an additional form of entertainment when you mix up selections with the Kentucky Derby, or other international meets and bigger events. These types of bets are also great when wagering on Cheltenham Festival races, especially when you have informed betting tips from the experts to hand.
Using a Heinz Bet Calculator to Work Out Winnings
Calculating winnings from 57 separate bets with a wide range of complexities is challenging. As such, we recommend using a free bet calculator to work out your potential returns.
Most online bookies for horse racing, however, have the facility to work out potential winnings before you place your bet. This only really applies to the best-case scenario of six winners, meaning Heinz bet calculators are the easiest and most convenient tools. Especially if you want to work out 3 winners and 3 losers, or any other bet combinations beyond six winners.
Here’s how it works.
- Enter the odds for all six horses
- Type in your unit stake
- Returns are broken down by the number of winners and losers
- Apply rule 4 deductions if necessary
- Repeat with any combo of winners and losers/stakes
Betting calculators are simply easier for working out SP odds or ante post prices for your Heinz bet. Just make sure to be accurate when inputting information and amending odds formats to work out maximum winnings.
Alternatives to Heinz Bets
The Heinz bet is a great choice for plenty of horse racing bettors. It might not always be the best option, depending on the horses and your confidence in them.
Here are some alternatives to the Heinz you can consider.
- Single – A straightforward bet on one selection to win or place
- Each Way – A bet combining a win and a place bet on a single selection
- Double – A bet on two selections where both must win for a return
- Treble – Three selections all needing to win for a return
- Accumulator – Four selections that all need to win
- Trixie – Four bets covering three selections (three doubles and one treble)
- Patent – 7 bets across three selections
- Yankee – 11 bets covering four selections (six doubles, four trebles, one fourfold)
- Lucky 15 – 15 bets covering four selections (includes singles plus a Yankee)
- Lucky 31 – 31 bets covering five selections (includes singles plus a Canadian)
- Canadian/Super Yankee – 26 bets covering five selections
- Super Heinz – 120 bets covering seven selections
- Goliath – 247 bets covering eight selections
FAQs
What's a Heinz bet?
The Heinz is a full cover wager comprised of 57 separate bets across six selections. It includes all possible combinations of doubles, trebles, four-folds, five-folds, and a sixfold accumulator. You need at least two winning selections to see any returns.
What is the difference between Heinz and Super Heinz betting?
A Heinz in horse racing has 57 bets with a unit stake for each wager. These include 15 doubles, 20 trebles, 15 four-folds, 6 five-folds, and 1 sixfold accumulator with no singles. Meanwhile a Super Heinz has 120 bets inclusive of 21 doubles, 35 trebles, 35 four-fold accumulators, 21 five-fold accumulators, 7 six-fold accumulators and 1 seven-fold accumulator.
Why is it called a Heinz bet?
The name comes from the food company of the same name, which commonly used the “Heinz 57 Varieties” slogan in advertising. As the bet is made up of 57 separate wagers, it is a fitting reference.
Is a Heinz bet or Lucky 63 better?
Neither is ostensibly better than the other as the two have their advantages and disadvantages. A Lucky 63, however, is essentially a Heinz (same 57 wagers) plus six singles (63 bets in total). With 63 bets, it is more expensive to place but you do seem some return with just one selection winning.
How many winners do you need for a Heinz bet?
The more winners you pick, the higher your returns will be from the variety of bets. However, you can see something back with just two winners while three is generally enough to guarantee a profit.