How to fill in a betting slip for horse racing
What to write on a shop slip for a horse race, and what Paddy Power's published shop rules do with a wrong time, a missing bet type or a short stake.
To fill in a betting slip for horse racing, write the meeting, the race time and the horse’s name, then the bet type, “each way” if wanted, the stake per bet and the total stake. Hand it over with the money and keep the printed receipt: under Paddy Power’s shop rules, a bet without one has not been accepted.
This is an evergreen explainer, and it goes one step further than the how-to guides that answer this search: it sets out what one high-street operator’s published rules do when the slip is written wrongly. This desk read Paddy Power’s All Shop Rules on 30 October 2026. The direct request was refused with a 403, so the page was read through a scraping fallback. Every rule below is Paddy Power’s, as written on that page; it says nothing about how Coral, Ladbrokes, William Hill or an independent shop would settle the same slip, and this desk read none of their rule books.
How to fill in a betting slip for horse racing, line by line
A paper slip for a single race carries six things, in roughly the order a cashier reads them:
- The meeting, such as Ascot or Kempton. Several meetings often run at similar times, so the course is what pins a race down.
- The race time, in the 24-hour or afternoon form shown on the shop’s screens.
- The horse’s name, spelled as printed. A racecard number can go beside it, but the name is what Paddy Power settles on.
- The bet type: single, double, Yankee and so on. Leave it off a multi-selection slip and the shop decides for you.
- Each way, if wanted, written out. An each-way bet is two bets, one to win and one to place, so it needs a stake for each.
- The stake per bet and the total stake, which should agree with the cash handed over.
Clause 2.2 of Paddy Power’s rules makes that the customer’s work: bets must be written clearly, and “spelling, timing, instructions and staking” must be correct and incapable of being misconstrued. Clause 2.4 adds that if a member of staff writes the slip, the responsibility still sits with the customer, who has no claim against Paddy Power if the instructions are wrong.
What happens if the slip is wrong? Paddy Power’s rules, clause by clause
| What is wrong on the slip | Clause | How Paddy Power’s shop rules settle it |
|---|---|---|
| No date | 21.1(a) | Taken for the day of issue unless clearly specified |
| Right name, wrong time or number | 21.1(b) | The name stands as the selection |
| Number, no name | 21.1(c) | The number stands, even if an incorrect price was taken |
| Price only, no name or number | 21.1(d) | The price determines the selection |
| Two horses of the same name, same day | 21.1(j) | The primary race, as determined by Paddy Power, unless the race is specified |
| Exact times, no meeting, combination bet | Combination-times clause | On the one meeting those times fit, even if other meetings share some times |
| Several selections from different events, one stake, no bet type | 21.1(k) | Win only: 1 a single, 2 a double, 3 a Trixie, 4 a Yankee, 5 a Canadian, 6 a Heinz, 7 or more full-cover doubles, trebles and so on |
| Each way not written | 21.1(k) | Each way only when stated on the slip |
| Too little stake | 9.1 | Total stake apportioned over the whole slip |
| Too much stake | 9.2 | Excess invested in proportion over the whole slip |
| Ambiguous instructions | 19.1, 19.2 | Paddy Power interprets, and may weigh previous betting patterns, or splits stakes equally |
| A line drawn across the slip | 19.3 | End of the bet above, start of the bet below |
| Not scanned, no receipt | 8.1 | Not accepted; a later claim for payment is refused |
The page’s own worked example for the combination-times clause is a Yankee written as 2.00, 2.35, 3.05 and 3.40: if those are Ascot’s race times, the bet is on Ascot, even though other meetings also have races at 2.00 and 3.05.
Two rows do most of the work. Rule 21.1(k) means an unlabelled four-horse slip of selections from different events with one stake becomes a Yankee, win only, and a reader who meant four each-way singles has a different bet. And clause 2.4 means a cashier filling in the slip does not move the risk.
Of the three how-to guides this desk’s search phase read for this query, from Racing Post, horseracing.net and Mr Luck, none quotes an operator’s settlement rule for a slip written wrongly; all three stop at what to write.
What happens if you write the wrong time on a betting slip?
At Paddy Power, rule 21.1(b) keeps a named horse as the selection even if it is wrongly timed. Where only times are given in a combination bet, the combination-times clause places it on the one meeting they fit.
A separate lettered list on the page covers a meeting stated with no time or the wrong time: an untimed single goes on the next race to run at the stated meeting, a wrongly timed single on the meeting that has a race at the stated time, and in multiples the selection is void unless the sequence on the slip makes the time clear. Where no selection is stated but a race time or meeting is, the bet stands for the first favourite. Clause 1.1 says shop bets are also covered by Paddy Power’s general Betting Rules and its terms and conditions, neither of which this desk read.
The receipt check, and where a dispute goes
Under clause 8.1, a bet in a shop using the EPOS system is accepted only once the slip has been scanned, a receipt printed with a unique bet number and an image of the bet, and the stake received. Clause 2.6 asks customers to check the receipt against their bet and the amount paid. That check, made at the counter, is the cheapest point to catch every error in the table.
If a slip is settled in a way the customer disputes, clause 4.1 sends the complaint to the shop manager first, then to Paddy Power’s Retail Help Desk. Clause 4.3 sets eight weeks as the maximum time to resolve a complaint or issue a final response. Clause 4.4 then points to IBAS, the Independent Betting Adjudication Service, for which the customer needs a unique reference number from the Retail Helpdesk. Our review of the complaints and ADR route sets out how that stage works as redress, and the payout-times explainer covers the same route for online accounts. Shop opening hours are a separate rule; the 10pm and Christmas Day conditions are set out here.
Frequently asked questions
How do you write out a betting slip?
Write the meeting, the race time and the horse’s name, then the bet type, each way if you want it, the stake per bet and the total. Paddy Power’s shop rules put the job on the customer: clause 2.2 says spelling, timing, instructions and staking must be correct and cannot be misconstrued. The bet exists only once the slip is scanned and a numbered receipt is handed back.
How do you write an each way bet on a betting slip?
State it on the slip in words the counter cannot misread, and cover both halves in the stake, because an each-way bet is a win bet and a place bet together. Under rule 21.1(k) of Paddy Power’s shop rules, a slip with no bet instructions is settled win only, and each way only when that is stated on the betting slip.
What happens if you write the wrong time on a betting slip?
At Paddy Power, the name wins. Rule 21.1(b) says a named selection stands as the selection irrespective of it being incorrectly numbered or wrongly timed. A separate clause settles a single that states a meeting but no time on the next race to run at that meeting, so the safe course is to write the name, the time and the meeting every time.
Bet Bulletin covers the betting market as industry news, not as a guide to what or when to bet, and this piece names no horse, price or bet worth placing. Paddy Power’s Great Britain shops run a Think 25 age check under clause 1.4, and no one under 18 may enter. Anyone for whom gambling has stopped being a choice can find free, confidential support through GambleAware at begambleaware.org.
