What is Lucky 31 Betting in Horse Racing?

When it comes to horse racing, there's many markets available to punters. One of those is the Lucky 31, which was invented by Betfred boss Fred Done as part of the popular 'Lucky' series which also includes the Lucky 15 and 63.

But what is Lucky 31 betting in horse racing? That's the question I'm here to answer, offering insight to help you understand one of the many bet types at your disposal.

What is Lucky 31 betting in horse racing?

A Lucky 31 is a bet involving five selections and consisting of, you guessed it, 31 individual outcomes. Those are five singles, 10 doubles, 10 trebles, five four-folds and one five-fold accumulator.

In short, it's a way to include multiple selections in the one bet without needing every single horse to win to turn a profit. For example, if three of your selections were victorious, that's seven winning outcomes (three singles, three doubles and one treble).

Regarding the stake, a £1 Lucky 31 requires a total outlay of £31, accounting for the bet's many permutations.

You can also place each-way Lucky 31s. These consist of 62 individual bets, as we're now dealing with place bets as well as straight win bets. Because of this, a £1 Lucky 31 costs £62.

Below I've put together an easy-to-digest breakdown of how a Lucky 31 is made up, using A-E to represent the five selections.

Four singles

A

B

C

D

E

Ten doubles

AB

AC

AD

AE

BC

BD

BE

CD

CE

DE

Ten trebles

ABC

ABD

ABE

ACD

ACE

ADE

BCD

BCE

BDE

CDE

Five four-folds

ABCD

ABCE

ABDE

ACDE

BCDE

One five-fold

ABCDE

Hopefully the above gives you a clear understanding of what a Lucky 31 is and how it works. These are extremely popular with punters as they offer significantly greater security than standard accumulators.

Betfred punters are particularly fond of Lucky bets due to the Multiply Your Odds promotion. This is a consolation prize whereby if just one of your selections win, it's paid out at four times the odds. For example, a 5/1 winner would be settled at 20/1!

You can work out your potential winnings before placing any bets by using our Lucky 31 Bet Calculator.