A Lucky 15 is one bet slip that places 15 separate bets on four selections. It is popular in horse racing because a single winner still pays something, which an ordinary accumulator does not. It also costs 15 times your stake per line, so it pays to know exactly what you are buying. This guide covers how many bets it contains, what it costs, how returns work and what happens with non-runners and each-way stakes. It sits with the rest of our horse racing betting guides.
The figures below use made-up odds to show the arithmetic. They are not selections or tips.
What is a Lucky 15 bet?
A Lucky 15 consists of 15 bets involving four selections in different events. William Hill and Sky Bet both set it out the same way:
- 4 single bets
- 6 double bets
- 4 treble bets
- 1 fourfold accumulator
The name comes from the number of bets. Because the singles are included, you get a return if any one of your four selections wins. In a plain fourfold accumulator, all four have to win.
How much does a Lucky 15 cost?
Your total stake is 15 times your stake per bet. A £1 Lucky 15 costs £15, and a £2 Lucky 15 costs £30. Every line carries the same stake, so the total is always the line stake multiplied by 15.
That is why a Lucky 15 is not a cheaper or safer version of a four-fold. A £1 fourfold costs £1. A £1 Lucky 15 costs £15, and most of that stake sits on lines that need more than one horse to win.
How are Lucky 15 returns worked out?
Each line is settled on its own. A winning single pays at its odds. A winning double pays when both horses win, with the return from the first leg carried onto the second, and so on up to the fourfold. The more winners you have, the more lines pay.
Here is a £1 win-only Lucky 15 on four made-up prices: 2/1, 3/1, 4/1 and 5/1. The stake is £15.
- No winners: £0 back.
- Only the 2/1 wins: £3 back.
- Only the 5/1 wins: £6 back.
- The 2/1 and the 5/1 win: two singles (£3 and £6) plus the double (£18) make £27 back.
- All four win: all 15 lines pay, and the return is £839.
The £839 comes from adding up every line: the four singles, six doubles, four trebles and the fourfold. The sums are our own working from those four prices.
One winner at those prices does not get your £15 back. A £1 single only returns £15 or more if the price is 14/1 or bigger. That is the main thing to understand about the bet: a single winner at short odds is a partial return, not a win.
What are Lucky 15 bonuses and consolations?
Some bookmakers add a consolation when only one selection wins and a bonus when all four win. These are bookmaker offers, not part of the bet itself, and they differ between firms. William Hill’s published bet types page, for example, lists:
- Consolation: double the odds if only one selection wins
- Bonus: 10% added to total returns if all four win
On our made-up prices, the lone 5/1 winner would be paid at 10/1 instead, returning £11 rather than £6. If all four won, 10% added to the £839 would make £922.90.
William Hill’s conditions are worth reading, and other firms have their own versions:
- only one selection per race
- selections must be horses or greyhounds at starting price or, where applicable, show price or early bird price
- ante-post prices do not qualify
- the bet must be at level unit stakes
- all selections must run
Bonuses can be withdrawn, change around big meetings and may not be offered at all. Check the terms on your bet slip before you rely on one. Our guide to fractional odds explained shows how to read the price behind each line.
What happens to a Lucky 15 if a horse is a non-runner?
A non-runner is treated as a void selection, and the bet carries on with the rest. William Hill says that if one selection becomes void, returns are settled on the remaining selections. A double becomes a single, a treble becomes a double and the fourfold becomes a treble. The stake on the non-runner as a single comes back to you.
With one non-runner, our own working shows that the 14 remaining lines behave like two Patents (three singles, three doubles and one treble each) on the three horses left. The bonus and consolation normally fall away, because William Hill requires all selections to run.
A late withdrawal in someone else’s race can also trigger a Rule 4 deduction on your winning bets. William Hill says that in multiple bets the deduction applies only to the parts of the bet that include the race where the horse was withdrawn. Our guide on what happens to your bet when a horse is withdrawn explains the scale and how it is applied.
How does an each-way Lucky 15 work?
An each-way Lucky 15 is 30 bets: the 15 win lines plus the same 15 on the place part. The total stake is 30 times the stake per bet. A £1 each-way Lucky 15 costs £30, and a 50p each-way costs £15.
William Hill settles each-way multiples as two separate bets. The win parts of the selections are multiplied together and the place parts are multiplied together. Sky Bet says place terms for an each-way multiple depend on the number of runners that come under starter’s orders.
The one-winner consolation at William Hill applies only to the win part of an each-way bet. If you are new to the place part, our guide to each-way betting explained covers how place terms work.
Lucky 15 compared with a Yankee, Trixie and Patent
William Hill’s bet types page gives the structure of the related bets:
- Yankee: 11 bets on four selections, with no singles. At least two winners are needed for a return.
- Lucky 15: the Yankee plus four singles, so 15 bets.
- Trixie: 4 bets on three selections, with no singles.
- Patent: 7 bets on three selections, including three singles.
- Lucky 31: 31 bets on five selections.
The extra singles are what make the Lucky 15 pay out on one winner, and also what make it cost more than a Yankee at the same line stake: £15 against £11 for £1 a line.
Can you use a Lucky 15 on football?
The bet itself works with four selections in different events, so it can be built from football or any other sport. The racing bonuses above are a different matter. William Hill’s Lucky 15 terms limit them to horses and greyhounds. Our piece on managing football accumulator risk covers the wider problem with stacking selections.
Work out the cost before you bet
If you want to test the sums on your own prices, our bet calculator works through the lines for you, including each-way and Rule 4, though it does not include bookmaker bonuses or consolations. Check the total stake before you confirm, especially on an each-way bet, and only stake what you can afford to lose.
Lucky 15 FAQ
How many bets are in a Lucky 15?
Fifteen: four singles, six doubles, four trebles and one fourfold. An each-way Lucky 15 is 30 bets, because every line also has a place part.
How much does a Lucky 15 cost?
15 times your stake per bet. £1 a line costs £15, or £30 each way.
Do you need all four to win?
No. One winner is enough for a return, because the singles are part of the bet. Whether that return covers your total stake depends on the price of the winner.
What happens if one of my selections is a non-runner?
The selection is void and the bet carries on with the rest. The stake on the single comes back, and the remaining lines settle on the other three selections. Bonuses normally do not apply.
Is a Lucky 15 a good bet?
It is a way of spreading four selections over 15 lines, not a way of reducing risk. The total stake is 15 times the line stake, so a single winner at short odds often returns less than you staked.
Sources: checked on 5 November 2026 against William Hill’s bet types page, William Hill’s UK and Irish horse racing rules, Sky Bet’s bet types page and Sky Bet’s winnings guide. The worked examples are our own arithmetic on made-up prices. The terms of your own bet govern settlement.
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