How the Canadian bet calculator works
The Canadian bet calculator settles all 26 bets of a Canadian at once. Type the unit stake and choose Per bet or Total, then enter the five prices in any format (5/2, 3.5, +250 or evs). Mark each selection Won, Lost or Void; switch on Each way to set the place odds and places paid and to unlock Placed. Open Rule 4 / dead heat on a row for deductions, and See every bet to check each of the 26 lines.
What is in a Canadian, and why the name
A Canadian is a full-cover bet on five selections in different races. It contains 26 bets and no singles:
| Bet | Number |
|---|---|
| Doubles | 10 |
| Trebles | 10 |
| Four-folds | 5 |
| Five-fold | 1 |
| Total | 26 |
It is the same bet as a Super Yankee, a name that marks it as the step up from the four-selection Yankee. We have not found a reliable record of where "Canadian" comes from, and the betting guides that mention it call the origin unclear. Bookmakers accept either name.
What a Canadian costs
The cost is 26 times the unit stake, and twice that each way because every line has a win part and a place part.
| Stake per bet | Win only | Each way |
|---|---|---|
| 10p | £2.60 | £5.20 |
| 50p | £13.00 | £26.00 |
| £1 | £26.00 | £52.00 |
If your slip shows the total rather than the unit stake, choose Total and type it: £13 total on a win only Canadian is 50p a bet. Each way, a winner counts in both the win and the place lines, while a horse that only places counts in the place lines alone. That is why an each way Canadian can still return money on a day when only one of your horses wins, as long as others place.
How many winners a Canadian needs
Two winners are the minimum for any return, because the smallest bet inside is a double. Two winners land exactly one of the 26 bets, three land 4, four land 11 and all five land every bet.
Whether two winners mean a profit depends on their prices. On a £1 Canadian (£26 staked), winners at 2/1 and 3/1 return £12, a loss of £14. Winners at 4/1 and 6/1 return £35, a £9 profit. With all five of the default prices (2/1, 3/1, 5/2, 4/1 and 6/1) winning, the return is £4,296.50.
A non-runner is settled at odds of 1.0, so each bet that includes it shrinks by one leg: its doubles become singles on the other horse, its trebles become doubles and so on. A Rule 4 deduction cuts that horse's winnings in every line it appears in, and the calculator applies it line by line.
Canadian or Lucky 31?
A Lucky 31 is the same 26 multiples plus five singles, so it costs 31 units and pays something on a single winner. With the three winners in the worked example below, a £1 Lucky 31 returns £89 for £31 staked, against £78.50 for £26 on the Canadian. The extra £5 buys cover for the one-winner result; it does not change the odds of the multiples. If you only have four selections, the same structure is a Yankee.