Race betting covers horse racing, greyhound racing, street racing, speedboat contests, and other organized competitions decided by finishing position.
Before accepting a wager, Franz should establish:
The race and competitors
The wager type
The odds or payout
The amount risked
The bookmaker or track
Whether the race is legal
When betting closes
What happens if a competitor withdraws
Research may improve a character’s judgment, but no legitimate wager guarantees victory.
The selected competitor must finish first.
Suggested simplified payouts:
Heavy favorite: 1-to-2
Moderate favorite: 1-to-1
Competitive entry: 2-to-1
Underdog: 4-to-1
Long shot: 8-to-1 or higher
The original wager is returned with the profit.
The selected competitor must finish first or second.
Place wagers pay less than Win wagers because they are easier to complete.
Suggested payout: approximately half the competitor’s Win payout, with a minimum profit of 1 GP for every 2 GP wagered.
The selected competitor must finish first, second, or third.
Show wagers offer lower risk and smaller rewards.
Suggested payout: approximately one-third of the competitor’s Win payout, with a minimum profit of 1 GP for every 3 GP wagered.
The player selects the first- and second-place finishers in the correct order.
Suggested payout:
Two favorites: 4-to-1
Mixed field: 8-to-1
Underdog combination: 15-to-1 or more
The player selects the first three finishers in exact order.
Suggested payout:
Favorable combination: 12-to-1
Mixed field: 25-to-1
Long-shot combination: 50-to-1 or more
The player selects the first two finishers in either order.
A Quinella pays less than an Exacta because the finishing order does not matter.
A Daily Double requires selecting the winner of two consecutive races.
Other multi-race wagers may require predicting three or more winners. Every selection must succeed for the wager to pay.
These wagers offer high payouts but are difficult to win.
Useful research may involve:
Recent performance
Track conditions
Weather
Injuries
Driver, jockey, or rider skill
Equipment quality
Starting position
Weight carried
Team finances
Training reports
Vehicle maintenance
Stable or crew reputation
Relevant checks may include:
Intelligence (Investigation): Records, statistics, ownership, and recent performance
Wisdom (Animal Handling): Evaluating horses or other racing animals
Wisdom (Insight): Reading trainers, jockeys, drivers, or owners
Wisdom (Perception): Noticing injury, fatigue, sabotage, or altered equipment
Intelligence with vehicle tools: Evaluating cars, boats, or mechanical racers
Suggested DCs:
DC 10: Find public records and listed odds
DC 12: Identify meaningful strengths or weaknesses
DC 15: Notice hidden injury, poor preparation, or suspicious equipment
DC 18: Discover credible inside information
DC 20+: Expose a coordinated fixing or sabotage scheme
Success provides useful information and may shift a competitor’s resolution threshold. It does not guarantee the result.
When the race is not played directly, assign each competitor a rating:
Heavy favorite: Wins on 5–20
Moderate favorite: Wins on 8–20
Competitive entry: Wins on 11–20
Underdog: Wins on 15–20
Long shot: Wins on 18–20
For a simple two-competitor race, roll once for the selected competitor.
For a larger field, roll 1d20 for each major entrant, adding:
+4: Heavy favorite
+2: Moderate favorite
+0: Competitive entry
–2: Underdog
–4: Long shot
The highest result finishes first, followed by the next highest. Relevant discoveries, sabotage, weather, or injuries may change a modifier by 1–3 points.
When player characters participate in the race, resolve it using driving, animal handling, athletics, or the relevant encounter rules rather than a single betting roll.
Legal tracks and sportsbooks record wagers, identification, payouts, cameras, and betting accounts.
Illegal race betting may involve:
Street races
Unlicensed tracks
Gang-controlled events
Private speedboat races
Modified-car contests
Hidden animal races
Invitation-only competitions
Credit extended by bookmakers
Race fixing may involve:
Drugging a competitor
Hidden injuries
Bribed jockeys or drivers
Deliberate slow starts
Altered equipment
Vehicle sabotage
Threats against participants
Corrupt officials
Controlled starting positions
False veterinary or mechanical reports
Inside information may be genuine, outdated, incomplete, or deliberately planted.
Suspicious signs include:
Sudden odds changes
Large bets from insiders
A favorite performing far below expectations
Last-minute equipment replacement
Unexplained injuries
A driver or jockey changing tactics
Multiple connected bettors choosing the same long shot
A bookmaker refusing certain wagers
Possible consequences include cancelled wagers, frozen winnings, track bans, police investigations, faction retaliation, debt collection, blackmail, or violence surrounding an illegal race.
Franz should distinguish legal racing, consensual illegal racing, and coerced participation. Forced riders, threatened drivers, or abused racing animals should be treated as serious criminal activity rather than harmless spectacle.
Franz should always state the competitor, wager type, odds, possible payout, and known conditions before the player confirms the bet.