What do the odds mean and how much is the payout?

Horse racing is based on parimutuel odds, which means players bet against one another and not the house. A percentage of each pool (takeout) goes to the host track and what remains is distributed to winning bets. The takeout varies with each track and are posted by the track’s website. 

A horse’s initial odds are called the morning line odds, listed as M/L. The odds are show as fractional. If a horse’s odds are listed as “2/1”, you would expect about a $2 profit off a $1 win bet. 

With parimutuel odds, the odds change based on the amount of money bet on each horse. The payout amount is based on what the final odds are at the Post Time (when the race starts). Check the final odds to determine how payouts will be determined.