If you are searching for something distinctly different from your traditional horse racing wager, the Tote is a place that is full of refreshing new ideas. One of their unique bet types goes by the name Swinger, which despite being wonderfully simple, makes for an exciting way to gamble.
How the Tote Swinger works is that punters just need to choose two horses they think will finish in the top three places. Any combination within this criteria is a winning bet so you can end up picking 1st and 2nd, 1st and 3rd or even 2nd and 3rd. This makes it a particularly novel bet as you do not even have to pick the winning horse to get yourself a share of the Swinger prize pool.
Combinations are not ranked in any way either (so 1st/2nd is no better than 2nd/3rd) however they are kept separate for the purposes of calculating dividends. If for example, a total net prize pot was £15,000, this means £5,000 would be allocated to each of the three winning combinations. Each combination always receives an equal share of the pot to begin with. Now imagine the (net) amount invested on the winnings combinations was as follows:
- 1st & 2nd – £500
- 1st & 3nd – £1,000
- 2nd & 3rd – £2,500
The subsequent dividend for each of these outcomes would be:
- 1st & 2nd – £10.00
- 1st & 3nd – £5.00
- 2nd & 3rd – £2.00
Due to this, you will always receive a higher payout by picking the least popular (in terms of total bets) outcome, regardless of what actual combination that is.
A Swinger bet is widely available at the Tote but for a race to be eligible it needs to feature at least six runners. For contests with five or fewer horses, you will not be able to place a Swinger bet. It is not limited to just UK racing either so punters can choose to place their Swingers on selected international action (not all races covered).
Why Choose a Tote Swinger Bet?
The Tote Swinger bet has found a lovely middle ground for punters who want to pick more than one horse in a race, but do not want the difficulty that comes with an Exacta or Trifecta. With an Exacta or Trifecta, punters must choose the top two or three horses in the exact order, making it considerably more challenging than a Swinger bet. Only having to name two horses to finish in the top three, in any order, is not too daunting of a task by contrast.
It is a particularly great bet when you fancy an outsider to perform well in a race, but you aren’t sure quite to what extent. You could back them each way as a possible alternative but if they simply place rather than win, the payout may be relatively small due to each way terms. Additionally, third place is not usually covered if there are six runners exactly. On a Swinger bet you can either pair this outsider up with a more reliable runner or go for an adventurous punt and back two long shots you think have good potential.
Picking two horses from further down the field is not a bad approach with a Swinger bet. After all, you do not need to pick the winning horse, so a complete shock is not required. When this happens, the dividends are often generous because fewer punters will have selected the combination. By contrast, when the race largely finishes as the betting suggested, the dividend amounts are quite small. To see how much the payouts fluctuate, let us look at results from a recent day of racing at Kempton (8th Nov 2023).
| Race | Odds (First Three) | 1st & 2nd | 1st & 3rd | 2nd & 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7/1, 5/6, 40/1 | £2.70 | £51.20 | £6.20 |
| 2 | 9/1, 66/1, 10/3 | £71.90 | £7.00 | £29.90 |
| 3 | 12/1, 33/1, 9/2 | £52.50 | £9.30 | £24.20 |
| 4 | 11/2, 7/4, 25/1 | £2.90 | £15.00 | £8.90 |
| 5 | 33/1, 4/1, 11/2 | £23.90 | £26.90 | £6.10 |
| 6 | 17/2, 12/1, 13/2 | £19.40 | £10.10 | £5.40 |
| 7 | 16/1, 7/2, 4/1 | £9.60 | £10.20 | £3.20 |
| 8 | 9/2, 13/2, 6/1 | £9.60 | £8.30 | £8.20 |
| 9 | 3/1, 5/1, 9/2 | £3.90 | £4.60 | £6.00 |
As you can see, there is a strong correlation between the odds of a top-three finisher and their combination dividend. The bigger the odds, the less money these runners attract, so the bigger the dividend when they finish top three. Even when picking one of the favourites with one unfancied outsider, you can often find a very sizeable dividend.
How a Tote Swinger Bet Works
Your standard Swinger bet involves simply picking a pair of horses who you think will finish in the top three. This bet requires just one stake (usually a minimum of £0.50 but can be higher for international races) and relies solely on those two selected horses performing well. There is no consolation prize for getting just one in the top three.
You can, however, pick more than two horses, if you want to cover more options and decrease your level of risk. This is what is known as a Combination Swinger. A combination swinger with three horses has three lines (3x your stake), one with four horses has six lines and one with five horses has 10 lines.
With 10 lines, a stake of just £1 (each) would mean placing a total bet of £10. A dividend relates to a £1 stake so if your winning line was worth £0.50, you would get half the stated dividend. As explained previously, each outcome (1st and 2nd, 1st and 3rd, and 2nd and 3rd) is allocated an equal share of the prize pot initially, but this amount is then divided by the total number of bets with that combination. This is why each race comes with three Swinger prize pots rather than there simply being one for all winning punters.
Because there are three winning combinations in each race, each with its own dividend, it is possible to win them all if you select three (or more) horses. In the above example, let’s say you picked Rocco Storm, One Step Up and Ingennio. If they ended up finishing 1-2-3, you would have all combinations covered, meaning three dividends would come your way. This does mean making extra selections is often not an unwise decision because although it costs more, your potential winnings do grow as well.
Rules
Most of the Swinger rules are very straightforward but it can get complex when it comes to calculations in some specific scenarios. This usually occurs when there is either a dead heat or a dividend calculation ends up being below the minimum of 70p. These are not really things you need to worry about as the rules ensure all customers are fairly compensated for their selections.
- Tote Deduction Rate – For Swinger bets, the Tote makes a 30% deduction from the gross pool
- Non Runners – Should your bet feature a non-runner it will be deemed void and you will have your stake refunded. Horses are classed as non-runners if they withdraw from the race prior to the starter’s orders
- Void/Abandoned Races – Races can change time but must remain on the same scheduled day for bets to remain valid
- Field Size – If due to non-runners, a field drops to four or five horses, Swinger bets will only pay out on bets that correctly call the top two finishers in either order. If the race features three or fewer horses, all bets will be made void
- Dead-Heats – You can see full calculations on the Tote website covering every eventuality but in short, your bet will be a winner if both horses finish in the top three, even if there are tied positions. It does impact payouts though especially if one of your selections is tied for third place with one or more other runners
- Finishers – If only two horses officially finish, the dividend will only be paid on the first and second in either order. If only one horse finishes, a dividend will be declared on that horse with any other selection
- Unclaimed Pots – In the event that nobody picked one of the winning combinations, the net pool assigned for that combination will be allocated to another race as determined by the Tote
Strategy
A Swinger bet might be more forgiving than some wagers as you only need to correctly call two of three places and in either order. It would be wrong to think it is an easy bet though especially in larger fields, so do not expect to call it right too often. That said, you can improve your chances of long-term success by following the tips below.
Avoid The Favourites
Although the favourites are generally the most likely to perform well in a race and secure a top-three finish, dividend payments are often low when this happens. In one recent 13-horse race won by a 5/1 third favourite, with the 13/8 favourite trailing in second and 9/2 second-favourite in third, the payouts were just £2.70, £2.90 and £1.70. By picking such ‘safe’ options you are not benefiting from the fact that the Tote is a pool betting operator.
By all means, pick one of the favourites but the other selection(s) could be something at a larger price. If there is a race where you do not fancy any of the middle or lower order, then simply consider another type of bet. There is nothing wrong with backing the favourites to do well when you really fancy their chances but a Swinger bet is not the best bet for it.
Consider Three Selections
There is nothing wrong with picking just two horses you think will finish in the top three but adding an extra name can offer real value. As a three-line bet, it does not have to cost you much while keeping a decent stake size but it gives you much better coverage and a potential shot at all three dividends. A sensible approach would be to pick two relatively ‘secure’ options and then go for a long-odds contender for the third. If the outsider does not perform, you have your two safer picks as a type of insurance option. If they do though, the dividend will likely reward you quite well.
Don’t Swinger for Every Race
As much as you may enjoy the concept of Swinger bets, they are not the type of wager for all races. If for example, you believe there is a clear 1-2 finish or even a 1-2-3 finish as two or three runners are clearly better than the rest, a Swinger is not likely to reward you particularly well. You either pick the strong favourites and stand a chance of winning a small dividend, or you go for an ambitious shout just to chase the bigger payout. Neither of these are great options as you should not just go for a long-odds option just to chase a big dividend.
If you do happen to genuinely rate a runner deeper in the betting, but have no strong feelings about the rest of the field, again a Swinger bet is probably not for you. Sticking with the Tote, their regular Win/Place bets are good options for a single horse wager. Alternatively, many traditional bookmakers offer several appealing markets such as to finish in the top two, three and so on.