Accumulator Bets explained for Grand National
Accumulator bets give the chance of winning a large amount of money without having to risk a huge sum of money. Find out exactly how they work, how to place an accumulator bet on the Grand National, and whether they’re a better option than a standard win bet.
What is an accumulator bet on horse racing?
An accumulator bet on horse racing is a bet on a number of different outcomes all to happen. The term ‘accumulator’, often shortened to simply ‘acca’, derives from the fact that the winnings from the first selection are rolled on to the second, third, fourth and any further selections. This allows the winnings to accumulate and provide a larger combined win than if each selection was backed individually in isolation.
Typically, a horse racing accumulator will involve bets on a different horse in each race at a meeting, as punters attempt to run through the card. There may be one or more horses priced up to win at short odds, and an accumulator allows you to back them all and win a significant sum without risking a huge amount of money. For example, if six horses were all priced at Evens (2.0 in decimal odds) to win their respective races, you would only double your money if you were backing them individually.
By contrast, combining the six horses in a horse racing accumulator bet (also known as a six-fold) would have odds of 64/1 (2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2). Of course, the chance of every single favourite winning is unlikely, so bettors must weigh up the risk versus the reward.
How to place a horse racing accumulator bet
The process of placing a horse racing acca isn’t too different to placing a normal win bet. Decide which horses you want to back and add them to your betslip. Your betslip will then give you the option to either back the horses individually or to combine them in a horse racing accumulator. Enter the stake and you’re good to go.
Types of accumulator bets
Sometimes accumulators are given a more specific name to help define how many selections are included. Backing two selections to both win is known as a double, three selections increases it to a treble, four makes it a fourfold, next comes a fivefold for a five selection acca, and so on. Most bookmakers will accept up to 20 different selections in an accumulator, which could also be referred to as a twentyfold.
Popular accumulator bets
A horse racing acca enables you to back any combination of horses, so it isn’t uncommon to see people picking a trait and following it through a card to form their accumulator. Some may simply want to cheer on all the ‘sure things’, and so they can put all the favourites from a particular racecard into their betslip to create a sixfold or sevenfold. Others might feel there is a distinct advantage to backing horses on one side of the track, so their acca could contain every horse coming out of stall one.
One of the most popular types of horse racing accumulator is backing one jockey to win all the races being run at a racecourse on a certain day. The likelihood of this actually happening is small, but Frankie Dettori completed the feat when he won all seven races being run at Ascot in 1996. The accumulator paid out in excess of 25,000/1, costing bookmakers thousands and winning some punters life-changing amounts.
| Horse Name | Outcome and Odds |
|---|---|
| Wall Street | Won at 2/1 |
| Diffident | Won at 12/1 |
| Mark of Esteem | Won at 10/3 |
| Decorated Hero | Won at 7/1 |
| Fatefully | Won at 7/4 |
| Lochangel | Won at 5/4 |
| Fujiyama Crest | Won at 2/1 |
| Acca Total | 25,095/1 |
Are accumulator bets worth it?
The question of whether accumulator bets are worth it depends on the individual placing the bet, as we all have different levels of aversion to risk, and reasons why we bet. The table below summarises the mains pros and cons of placing accumulator bets.
| Pros of placing an acca | Cons of placing an acca |
|---|---|
| Potential to win large amounts from a small stake | Higher risk than placing bets on individual selections |
| Creates levels of fun and excitement that wouldn’t be possible with a single bet | Frustration of seeing your selections win, only to lose your acca if just one horse lets you down |
| ‘Cash out’ functionality allows you to lock in a profit even if the acca is losing | Gives up a higher margin to bookmakers than if placing single bets |
| Bookmakers often offer promotions and odds boosts on accumulator bets |
What is an each way accumulator bet?
An each way bet gives you the chance to win your bet if your horse either wins a race OR finishes in the top few places. This principle can be extended to accas when you’re placing an each way accumulator bet. Instead of betting on a single horse to win or place in a race, you’re hoping for a number of horses all to win or be placed. The table below explains how your bet would fare in each different scenario.
| Scenario | Win part of bet | Place part of bet |
|---|---|---|
| All horses win | Winner | Winner |
| Some horses win, some horses are placed* | Loser | Winner |
| All horses are placed* | Loser | Winner |
| One or more horses are not placed* | Loser | Loser |
*The exact number of places will vary depending on the bookmaker you bet with and the race you bet on. For the Grand National though, this will be at least 4 places, and often 5 or more.
Download our Grand National Betting Guide
Useful links and ‘how to’ guides
We hope you now have a better understanding of placing accumulators on horse racing. The natural next step is to place your Grand National accumulator bets.
The options open to you are betting in a bookmakers or at a racecourse, or making the most of the huge amount of generous offers and free bets by betting online.
You can also find out how much your accumulator will pay out by using our Grand National accumulator calculator, although most betslips will automatically calculate your potential winnings for you, before you go ahead and place your acca.
Whichever option you choose, we’ve got all your Grand National betting needs catered for at grandnational.org.uk.
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