What is a Quaddie (Quadrella)?.

What is a quaddie?

A quaddie, short for quadrella, is a tote (pari-mutuel) exotic bet. To win, you must pick the winner of four specific races at the one meeting. These four races are nominated in advance by the TAB and are known as the quaddie legs. All four of your selections must finish first. If even one of your legs runs second, the bet loses.

Because it is a tote bet, you are not locked into a price when you bet. Instead, all winning tickets share the prize pool, and the dividend is declared after the fourth leg is run. A popular result with many winners pays a smaller dividend; an upset with few winners can pay thousands.

How to place a quaddie on Bet Right

1. Open the meeting you want and find the four nominated quaddie legs. They are flagged on the race card.
2. In each of the four legs, select one runner or several. Selecting more than one runner in a leg is how you give yourself cover if you are not sure of the winner.
3. Choose how you want to bet: a full unit (you pay for every combination at the full rate) or flexi betting (you set your total spend and take a percentage of the full bet).
4. Check the number of combinations and the total cost before you confirm. The bet slip shows both.
5. Confirm the bet. Your ticket is now live and will resolve once the fourth leg is official.

How quaddie combinations work

The number of combinations is simply the number of runners you pick in each leg multiplied together. If you select 2 runners in the first leg, 3 in the second, 4 in the third and 5 in the fourth, that is:

2 x 3 x 4 x 5 = 120 combinations.

At a full $1 unit, that bet costs $120. Add more runners for safety and the cost climbs quickly, which is exactly the problem flexi betting solves.

Flexi betting explained

Flexi betting lets you take a percentage of the full bet for a stake you choose. Your flexi percentage is your stake divided by the number of combinations. Spend $60 on the 120-combination example above and you are betting at 50 percent:

$60 / 120 combinations = 50% flexi.

Your payout is then the declared dividend multiplied by your flexi percentage. If the quaddie pays a $1,000 dividend and you took it at 50 percent, you collect $500. Flexi keeps wide, well-covered quaddies affordable while still paying a meaningful share of the pool.

How the dividend is paid

Bet Right settles quaddies to the dividend declared by the relevant Australian TAB tote pool. All four of your legs must win for the ticket to pay. The final amount you receive is the declared dividend adjusted for your flexi percentage. For the exact pool and settlement rules, including how late scratchings are treated, see Bet Right's rule book.

Quaddie strategy: bankers and spreading

Two ideas shape most quaddies. A banker is a single runner you are confident will win a leg, so you back only that one runner in that leg and save your budget to spread wider elsewhere. Spreading means taking several runners in the legs you find hardest to read. A common approach is one banker, one near-banker, and two wide-open legs with three or four runners each.

Quaddie FAQs

How many races are in a quaddie?

Four. You must pick the winner of all four nominated legs at the meeting.

What is the minimum quaddie bet?

With flexi betting you can take a small percentage of the full bet for a low total outlay. Check the current minimum stake on your Bet Right bet slip before you confirm.

What happens if one of my runners is scratched?

If a selected runner is scratched, tote rules apply a substitute, typically based on the market at the relevant time. The exact treatment is set out in Bet Right's rule book, so check it before the legs are run.

Is a quaddie fixed odds or tote?

A quaddie is a tote bet. The dividend is declared after the races, not locked in when you bet. If you prefer a price you can see upfront, read our guide on how to read fixed odds.

New to exotics? It helps to be comfortable with the basics first. Learn how to bet each-way for a gentler introduction to racing bets, or get set for the spring with our guide to betting on the Melbourne Cup.

Does Best Tote Exotics apply to quaddie bets?

Yes, where Bet Right offers Best Tote Exotics on a meeting, this usually applies to both the main and early quaddie.