Spread Betting on Horse Racing - Multi Mules

What Is A Multi Mules Bet?

A Multi Mules spread bet is a prediction on the racecard number of the winning horse multiplied by the racecard number of the horse finishing second, aggregated together for a race meeting. This can be quite a volatile be, so make sure you know what you are doing before placing such a bet. It will give you an interest in all races at a particular meeting and you'll either be cheering on the low numbered horses or the high numbers, depending on how you've bet.

If you feel low number horses will do well at a particular meeting, you would bet low (Sell) on the Multi Mules market, where as if you think the higher numbers will prevail, you would bet high (Buy).

Example Of How It Works

To illustrate this bet we'll take a look at the racecard at the York Ebor meeting:

There were 7 races on the card, ranging from 7 to 20 runners. Before the start of racing Sporting Index priced the market up with a spread of 427 - 471.

If we look at the first race on the card we'll see the forecast favourite (Heaven Knows), is number 8 on the racecard and the horse jt second in the forecast (River Tiber) is number 4 on the card. If those were the two horses to finish first and second they would score 32 points on the Multi Mules market (8 x 4).

If you felt Sporting Index had priced the spread too high for the meeting you would Sell the market at the lower figure of 427 quoted in their spread. If you felt their spread was too low, you would Buy at the higher figure of 471.

Your stake will depend upon your personal circumstances and how much you like to risk. The important thing to remember is the amount you stake is not the amount you stand to win or lose on the race. The stake entered is amount per point. E.g. If you were to Buy £1 at 471 and the total finished at 550 you would win £79, £1 x 79 (550 - 471). However if the total finished at 400 you would lose £71, £1 x 71 (471 - 400).

The Multi Mules market remains active throughout the race meeting. Sporting Index update the spread after each of the races, adjusting it up or down depending upon the earlier results. This is a great aspect of spread betting in that it enables you to take a profit, if the spread moves in your favour, or cut your loses, if the spread moves against you.

Race One

The first race was won by Greek Well, which was number 15 on the race card. Horse number 12 finished 2nd. We multiply the two racecard numbers together and 15 x 12 gives us a total of 180 points towards the Multi Mules total after one race. With the two horses having fairly high numbers it was a good start if you brought on the market. Sporting Index adjusted their spread to 512 - 546, which meant you could have instantly locked in a profit of £41 (512 - 471). Not so good if you sold on the spread, but with 6 races still to run there's plenty of time for the situation to change.

Race Two

The second race was won by racecard number 7, with number 3 finishing second. Multiplied up that gives 21 more points to the total of 201 points after two races. The result had little effect on the market with Sporting Index making only a minor adjustment of their spread to 513 - 545.

Race Three

The third race was won by number 7, with number 9 finishing second. A quick bit of arithmetic gives us 63 more points to the total of 264 points after three races. With the racecard numbered up to 20, it could have been a much bigger score and as a result Sporting Index lowered their spread back down to 481 - 503.

Race Four

The fourth race was won by the odds on favourite, which was number 7 on the card, number 2 finished second, which meant an additional 14 points points on the total of 278 points after four races. With the odds on favourite winning there was no great change to the spread, but horse number 2 taking second was enough for Sporting Index to reduced it slightly to 456 - 474.

Race Five

The fifth race was won by number 2, with number 9 following him home. That gave 18 more points to the total of 296 points after five races. For a market that could prove very volatile, it was being remarkably quite. Sporting Index made another small adjustment down to 443 - 459. With the spread remaining very close to their original quote, there wasn't much opportunity to take a profit either side of the bet.

Race Six

The sixth race was won by number 7 on the card and number 6 finished second, which added 42 to the total of 338 points after six races. Again not much change to the range, with Sporting Index just reducing the size of the spread by a few points to 443 - 455. Still no opportunity to take a profit, but with 20 runners going in the last, there was a good opportunity to close out bets either way, if you didn't fancy risking it.

Race Seven

The seventh race was won by number 9 on the card, with number 11 finishing second. That added 99 points to give a final total of 437 points. The initial spread set by Sporting Index was spot on, with the total of 437 falling in the middle of their range of 427 - 471.

Given the total was in the middle of their range, there was no winnings to be had from buying or selling on their initial spread, but by the same token, losses were kept to a minimum.

If you'd bet high you could have taken a profit after the first or second race, but to a £1 stake would have ended up with a £34 loss (471 - 437).

If you had bet low, you would have been a little worried with the high score in the first race, but you'd have ended up with a loss of just £10 (437 - 427).

Opening a Spread Betting Account

There are also many other spread betting markets available for horse racing and other sports, see the left-hand menu for other examples. You can place bets on these markets by opening an account with Sporting Index.