The legend of the ‘quaddie’ - Australia’s favourite bet

Have you heard of the 'quaddie'? Australia’s most popular bet hit overdrive on Caulfield Cup day on Saturday with on-course punters getting stuck into the renowned exotic at the Victoria track.

The quaddie, also referred to as the Quadrella, requires picking the winners of the last four races on a card, which are shaped to put the trickiest races at the end to boost betting turnover. It’s as tough as it sounds.

There is also an early quaddie, covering four consecutive races at the start of a meeting, but for the main exotic it was races seven to ten, including the fiercely competitive 18-runner Stella Artois Caulfield Cup, that needed solving.

The highest return for a single ticket on the New South Wales TAB was A$688,920 (£364,013/€422,947) at Flemington on Melbourne Cup day last year and the bet is not just popular with Australians, as Kiwi Pete Summerfield attested trackside.

Summerfield said: “It’s an interesting exotic bet, not any standard bet, and there’s a chance to win big. The payouts are good, if you get them.

“It’s a real punt as opposed to an investment, but I’ve won a few and they’ve been quite juicy. It’s a very popular bet here. The Aussies love a gamble . . . and so do the Kiwis!”

A flexi quaddie enables punters wishing not to spend too much to get involved by taking a percentage of the bet and if successful the same proportion of the declared dividend.

For Thomas Walker, who lives in the Melbourne suburb of Chadstone, the bet is a must for any day at the races. It has proved a costly one.

Walker, on course with friends, said: “It’s a racegoers’ tradition to do the quaddie. You get to race six or seven and you’re down 200-odd bucks, so the quaddie is a last chance saloon to win it all back.

“My success rate is zero. I don’t think I’ve ever won it but that doesn’t put me off coming back for more.

“Getting knocked out in the first leg is a classic and a feeling I’m used to. I’ve got to the last leg a couple of times and it tends to be the favourite that lets you down.”

Quaddie payout on Melbourne Cup day

2014 £5,623 NSW/£7,305 VIC
2015 £532,743 NSW/£262,231 VIC
2016 £3,700 NSW/£2,934 VIC
2017 £11,742 NSW/£10,493 VIC
2018 £14,561 NSW/£13,313 VIC
(converted from Australian dollar dividend to A$1 stake)

The highest Quadrella dividend was posted on Mackinnon Stakes day at Flemington in 2007 at A$1,391,968 (£735,492/€854,457) on the NSW tote, with the winners taking a percentage as opposed to a full unit.

The quaddie, which you can cash out after each leg, may be too hard for some, but not one racegoer who was cheering in his living room when winning A$2,000 from a A$2 outlay on this day four years ago.

He said: “I only tend to do it at home but it’s a bit of fun to do when you’re sitting there watching the racing. It’s a very popular bet and I like it, particularly after this day four years ago.”

Quaddie: bet placed for the Caulfield card

The quaddie – a Quadpot equivalent in Britain – is centrally operated by Totalisator Agency Board, known as TAB. Other firms, including Ladbrokes, offer the bet online.

Andy Wright, executive general manager of wagering at Tabcorp, said: “The quaddie has long been a favourite bet type for TAB punters.

"Along with large dividends, many punters love the social aspect of the quaddie as it often taken by a group of friends coming together to choose their selections."

TAB operators can also be found in bars in Australia. There is no doubt the quaddie, which paid A$1,833.70 (£968.90/€1125.76) to a A$1 stake on Caulfield Cup day, is a firm fixture in Australia betting culture.

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