Betfair Official Blog

Earlybird FAQ's

FAQ’s:

1. How are the 50% savings calculated?

All bets placed before 10am (UK time) on the morning of the race that are matched at any time before the off will be charged at only 50% of your prevailing commission rate (as at the time of market settlement).

Example 1

You back Kauto Star at 09:45 on the day of the race and of course Kauto Star goes on to win. You win £100 and, assuming your commission rate is 5%, you pay £5 in commission to Betfair when the market settles. £2.50 of this is returned to your account as a cashback the following Friday. 

2. What if the price I want isn’t available by 10am on the day of the race?

‘Early-Bird’ savings apply to all bets placed before 10am on the day of the race. If the odds you want aren’t available, place an order at the odds you want before 10am and check your bets before the off to see if you get matched.

3. What if I place bets both before and after 10am, on the day of the race?

We’ll work out your savings based only on your bets placed before 10am, and depending on how much commission you’d have paid if you’d only placed these bets, you’ll receive 50% of this figure as your cashback.  Please note, that cashbacks for ‘Early-Bird’ savings can’t exceed the actual commission you’ve paid.

Example 2

You back Kauto Star at 09:45 for £100 @ 2.0 and then again for another £100 at the same odds just before the off at 14:55. Kauto Star goes on to win the race; you win £200 and pay £10 in commission to Betfair when the market settles.

The commission relating only to the ‘Early-bird’ bet is £5 (£100 x 5%) so you will receive a cashback of £2.50 (£5 x 50%).

Example 3

You back Kauto Star at 09:45 for £100 @ 2.0 and then lay him for £80 at the same odds just before the off at 14:55. Kauto Star goes on to win the race; you win £20 and pay £1 in commission to Betfair when the market settles.

Had you only placed the ‘Early-bird’ bet you would have won £100, paid £5 in commission (£100 x 5%) and been entitled to receive up to a maximum of £2.50 (£5 x 50%) in cashback. However, the maximum cashback you can receive is the total amount you’ve paid, so you will receive a cashback of £1.

4. What if I place a number of bets on different selections before 10am?

The ‘Early-bird’ savings you will receive depend on your market position from all bets that are placed before 10am. If you only bet before 10am, win £100 and pay £5 commission, you will receive a cashback of £2.50 the following Friday, irrespective of the number of bets you placed in that market and whether they were back bets, lay bets or both.

Example 4

At 09:45 on the day of the race you back Kauto Star for £100 @ 2.0 and Exotic Dancer for £50 @ 3.0. Kauto Star goes on to win the race; you win £100 from your first bet and lose £50 on your Exotic Dancer bet. You have total market winnings of £50 and pay £2.50 in commission to Betfair when the market settles.

All the commission you pay relates to ‘Early-bird’ bets so you will receive a cashback of £1.25 (£2.50 x 50%).

5. What if I place a bet before 10am, but then want to amend the odds or the stake?

Amending the odds of an ‘Early-bird’ after 10am cancels the original bet and therefore the amended bet is not eligible for ‘Early-bird’ savings. 

If you amend the stake of an ‘Early-bird’ bet after 10am, only a maximum of the original stake will be eligible for ‘Early-bird’ savings. e.g. If you increase the stake from £20 to £30, only £20 of the total stake is eligible for ‘Early-bird’ savings. Likewise, if you decrease the stake of an ‘Early-bird’ bet from £20 to £10 after 10am, only the remaining £10 is eligible for ‘Early-bird’ savings.  

6. What if I place a bet before 10am but only some of it gets matched?

Only bets that are placed before 10am on the day of the race that are matched at any time before the off will be eligible for ‘Early-bird’ savings. e.g. If only half the original stake is matched, then only half of the ‘Early-bird’ bet will be eligible for ‘Early-bird’ savings.

7. When will I receive my ‘Early-Bird’ cashback?

Every Friday we’ll look back at all the Early-bird bets you have placed over the last week (Friday to Thursday inclusive), determine any savings and apply them through a cashback to your account by the end of the day each Friday afternoon.

8. Will the cashback affect my Betfair points for these races?

No. As an extra bonus, we’ll continue to award points for your bets in these races at the standard rate.

9. Which races / meetings will ‘Early-Bird’ price reductions apply to?

‘Early-Bird’ price reductions will start on the 29th September 2007 with the Ascot race card for that day. For each day thereafter, the ‘Early-Bird’ savings will be available on one nominated race meeting per day. The schedule of the ‘Early-Bird’ race meetings will be published in advance and will be available both on the forum (service announcements) and on the site

10. Do ‘Early-Bird’ price reductions apply to all markets on these meetings?

The ‘Early-Bird’ price reductions will be available on all Day Of The Race markets, but do not apply to Antepost markets.

11. How long will the ‘Early-Bird’ price reductions be available for?

‘Early-Bird’ price reductions will be applied to one British Horseracing card each day for the foreseeable future.

12. Will ‘Early-Bird’ price reductions be applied to other sports in the future?

Initially, ‘Early-Bird’ price reductions are only available on GB Horseracing although we may extend the scope of the ‘Early-Bird’ price reductions in the future.

13. What if I place bets in ‘Early-bird’ markets the night before the day of the race?

All bets that are placed after the market is active on site but before 10am on the morning of the race that are subsequently matched will be eligible for ‘Early-bird’ savings.