Losing real bets on a deadheat horse race

Hi Admin
I've come to you first for your advice and professional answer to my following predicament 
Yesterday I was  betting real money on a race namely:

IRE Curr 5th May 17:50 1m2f Hcap-UK

Bet 1)Horse : Breathe  Easy  20GBP @ 1.01 matched
Bet 2)             Breathe Easy  20GBP @ 1.02 matched
Bet 3)             Breathe Easy  20GBP @ 1.04 matched

There was a photo finish and the race was still "In Play"so I started betting on the other horse,

Bet 4) Horse : Azurite 20GBP @ 1.40 matched 
Bet 5)              Azurite 20GBP @ 1.42 matched
Bet 6)              Azurite 20GBP @ 1.57 matched
Bet 7)              Azurite 20GBP @ 1.61 matched
Bet              Azurite 20GBP @ 1.62 matched
Bet 9)              Azurite 20GBP @ 1.65 matched

I then stopped betting and the race was declared a "Dead Heat" with the 2 above horses , Betfair say a dead heat payout is half of what it would normally be , fair enough , but when I checked My accounts on both MF and Betfair  it said I had made a loss overall  on this race of -56.59GBP . I was utterly baffled by this and thought I would seek clarification from yourselves to see if this situation is correct, I hope not as I backed both horses to win and they did but I've ended up losing money.
Thanks in anticipation

goodyflyer 

Your loss looks correct.  If you back any horse and it dead-heats then your back odds are divided by 2.  But if the odds you backed at were less than 2.0, then a loss will be incurred.

So back horse A for £10 at 1.30, it dead heats so the odds will be 0.65 and your return will be £6.50 giving a loss of £3.50.

The opposite happens when you lay a horse at <2.0 that dead-heats, as this will result in a profit.

The other problem with your wagers is that you have not made equal bets on both horses.

Hi,

The formula of P/L when a dead heat is in place is this:

stake * (price/2 - 1)

In your case it is:

Breathe Easy:
60*(1.023/2 - 1) = -29.3

Azurite:
120*(1.545/2 - 1) = -27.3

Total loss: -29.31 - 27.3 = -56.6

So yes, you are very likely to lose money even if one of the horses you backed on has won. It depends on the price of the bet, the lower it is, the greater your loss.

Hi
Thanks for the info , just one of lifes little setbacks.

On the postive note, mistakes makes us more aware and more knowledgeable. Now we know what "not" to do.