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The first correct entry chosen will receive a copy of Chambers Crossword Dictionary; two runners-up will receive a copy of an anthology of puzzles from the Chambers range. Write your name and contact details in the space provided and send to: Listener Crossword No 3970, 63 Green Lane, St Albans, Hertfordshire AL3 6HE, to arrive by March 6.

At the bookmakers, if you back a horse to win and you are successful, you will receive a pay-out of your stake multiplied by the odds plus the return of your stake. For example, a winning bet of £1 at 12 to 1 will pay out 12 times £1 plus the £1 stake, making £13 in total. An "each way" bet is two bets, the first on the horse to win and the second on the horse to come in the first three places. Thus an "each way" bet for a stake of £1 is in fact two bets of £1 requiring an outlay of £2. The odds on the second bet are one quarter of the odds on the first. For example, if a horse is backed £1 "each way" at 12 to 1 and the horse wins, both bets pay out, the first £13 as above and the second £4 (£1 multiplied by the quarter odds of 3 to 1 plus the £1 stake), making a total pay-out of £17. If the horse is placed (ie, comes in second or third), the first bet loses but the second bet pays out £4.

In this crossword, the clues are bets on a 12 horse race and the grid entries are the corresponding pay-outs if the bets succeed. Each clue gives the name of a horse, the stake and whether the bet is to win or "each way" (e/w), in the latter case indicating whether the pay-out is based on a win or a place. The pay-out made for each bet is rounded up to the higher penny if fractional; grid entries are thus in whole pence. All grid entries are different and none begins with a zero. The horses' odds, which are all different, are of the form x to 1 where x is an integer between 1 and 100 inclusive.

Before the actual race, Ruslan backed every horse 50p "each way". These bets, totalling £12, succeeded in beating the bookies, but the profit was meagre: it turned out to be the smallest profit possible based on the odds for the runners in the race. After completing the grid, solvers must enter the names of the first three horses in the frame. Their initial letters, read downwards, indicate how the result of the race might be seen.

ACROSS
1 Agio, 70p win (4)
3 Sumo, 25p e/w (place) (3)
6 Lido, 85p e/w (place) (4)
8 Olio, 30p win (3)
9 Mojo, 65p e/w (win) (4)
10 Xeno, 95p e/w (win) (4)
12 Nemo, 35p e/w (place) (3)
14 Iago, 35p e/w (win) (4)
16 Iago, 15p e/w (win) (3)
17 Lido, 90p e/w (place) (4)
18 Ciao, 25p e/w (place) (2)
19 Ergo, 70p e/w (place) (3)

DOWN
1 Ciao, 25p win (3)
2 Sumo, 45p win (3)
3 Tyro, 40p e/w (place) (3)
4 Nemo, 70p e/w (win) (4)
5 Mojo, 15p win (3)
6 Filo, 70p e/w (place) (3)
7 Xeno, 55p e/w (place) (3)
10 Ergo, 10p e/w (place) (2)
11 Iago, 60p e/w (win) (4)
12 Lido, 55p e/w (place) (4)
13 Olio, £1 e/w (win) (4)
14 Tyro, 20p win (3)
15 Agio, 45p win (3)

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