Guide to Tote Betting and Placepots

What is Tote Betting?

With Tote Betting you are betting into a 'pool' with other bettors, and the odds (known as dividends) are calculated after the race, based on how much money was bet on each horse.

In Tote betting, all bets on a market – such as the race win – are combined into a pool and paid out, less the operators' commission.

The return is based on how many people picked the race winners, and it can in some cases be significantly higher than the standard SP (starting price).

To break this down further. The pool is formed by combining all money bet on the outcome. A percentage (usually 15–20%) is taken by the Tote operator as commission.

In the case of a race where £100,000 is bet into the pool, a commission of 19% is applied and that leaves £81,000 for the payout.

If a total of £10,000 was staked on the winning horse, the payout pool would be divided as follows:

Dividend = £81,000 ÷ £10,000 = £8.10 per £1.

In this case, the Tote Win dividend is £8.10, meaning punters get this amount for every £1 staked.

The Tote was originally established as a UK government initiative to offer a fairer and more controlled alternative to traditional bookmakers by paying out the pooled money as a winning dividend on each race.

Today, it is run by the UK Tote Group, in conjunction with international partners such as World Pool with the Hong Kong Jockey Club on certain races, providing major payment pools.

Key Tote Betting Markets

Win and Place pools

• Bets place on the win and place markets in each race.

Exacta and Trifecta

• These are part of the Tote's range of 'exotic' bets on horse racing. An exacta requires punters to pick the first two finishers in a horse race – in the correct order. The Trifecta requires the first three finishers – again, in the correct order.

Placepot

• The Placepot is one of the most popular Tote bets, where punters pick a horse/horses to be placed in each of the first six races at a particular meeting.

Quadpot

• The Quadpot is where punters pick a horse/horses to be placed in each of races 3, 4, 5, and 6 at a single race meeting.

Jackpot and Scoop6

• The Tote Jackpot requires punters to pick the winners of the first six races at a particular meeting. The Scoop6 is a Saturday-only special bet where punters have to pick the winners of six selected televised races, often across multiple courses.

What is a Placepot in Horse Racing?

The Placepot is one of the most popular Tote bets, where punters pick a horse/horses to be placed in each of the first six races at a particular meeting.

The Placepot uses a unit stake system, allowing you to bet multiple combinations across six races, i.e. to have more than one runner in a race/races. The minimum total stake for a placepot is £1.

The unit stake is the amount you place per line or combination. If you have one horse in each of six races, this is one unit stake, or one line. If you choose multiple horses in one or more races, the number of lines multiplies accordingly, thus increasing the total stake.

The Placepot bet allows for massive payout on small stakes, especially on days when the favourites don't win every race.

How Does a Placepot Work?

Places are generally 1st, 2nd and 3rd when a field of eight or more runners goes to post. For races with 1-4 runners, it is win only, with two places for 5-7 runners and, in fields of 16+ runners, an extra place is typically added.

Perms are in Placepots when choosing more than one horse in a race. When you add more than one runner in a race, the perms increase. To get your total number of lines, multiply the number of selections in each of the six races.

2 × 1 × 2 × 1 × 2 × 1 = 8 lines (where a £1 unit stakes cost £8 in total)

Example of a Placepot Bet in Practice

To have a Placepot bet, you need to make selections in the first six races at a given meeting.

For example:

Race 1: 1 horse

Race 2: 2 horses

Race 3: 1 horse

Race 4: 2 horses

Race 5: 1 horse

Race 6: 1 horse

Total lines = 1 × 2 × 1 × 2 × 1 × 1 = 4 lines

If your unit stake is £2, this bet will cost £8 in total. The more horses you have in a race, theoretically the better chance you have of hitting the placepot, though the overall cost of the bet increases.

Advantages of Tote Betting and Placepots

Tote Betting and Placepot betting allows punters the chance to win big dividends for potentially small stakes.

When spending a day at the races, the Placepot bet is a great way of having an interest in multiple races for a small stake, and possibly yielding a significant payout.

Risks and Considerations of Tote Betting and Placepots

Large dividends are possible but, conversely, the Tote payouts can reduce if the favourites dominate in all races.

Having multiple runners in all six legs of a placepot bet will see the overall cost of the bet (relative to the unit stake) rising quickly.

The ability to study the formbook is a great help when targeting the placepot but, of course, if you get the first race wrong, the action could be over quickly!

Strategies for Tote Betting and Placepots

Some good strategies for Placepots include:

·         Mixing favourites with outsiders for value

·         Studying racecards and place form carefully

·         Use perms to balance cost and coverage

·         Target meetings with competitive fields

·         Bank on reliable horses in key legs

FAQs about Tote Betting and Placepots

How are Tote dividends calculated?

Tote dividends are calculated by dividing the total prize pool fund by the amount of bets on the winning outcome.

What happens if my horse is a non-runner in a Placepot?

If you have a non-runner your selection is replaced by the SP favourite in the race.

Can I play Tote Placepots online and at the racecourse?

Yes, the official Tote website offers placepot betting on all meetings and there are Tote operators at all UK and Irish racecourses.

Do international Tote pools link with UK pools?

In some cases, for selected races or meetings, they do, helping to create larger combined pools and potentially bigger dividends.

Is Tote betting better value than fixed-odds?

There is no definitive answer. Tote betting can often yield big dividends when there are big fields, but fixed odds betting is better in small fields, especially in cases where favourites dominate.