Cazoo Derby goes global with World Pool
Tuesday 31st May 2022
Cazoo Oaks Day to be a World Pool event for the first time, along with Derby Day
7 bet types available in World Pool for racing fans around the globe
£2,000 to winning racing staff for World Pool Moment of the Day
The two-day Cazoo Derby, one of the centrepieces of the Platinum Jubilee Weekend, will be a World Pool event with millions of racing fans from over 20 countries able to watch and bet on the high-class racing action at Epsom Downs racecourse, where £3.36 million in prize money is on offer across the 14 races.
The UK Tote Group, leading British racecourses, and their media rights partners, principally Racecourse Media Group (RMG), have all worked closely with the Hong Kong Jockey Club to prepare for 17 World Pool racedays to be hosted in the UK and Ireland this year.
For the first time, Cazoo Ladies Day (Friday) becomes a World Pool event alongside Derby Day (Saturday), with World Pool sponsoring two races: The World Pool Handicap Stakes (2.35pm on Friday) and the World Pool Northern Dancer Handicap Stakes (5.15pm on Saturday).
As a collaboration of global Totes, World Pool enables racing fans from all over the globe to bet into a single pool. This creates huge liquidity and excellent value for racing fans. In 2021, £363 million was bet into the pools with a 15% higher return to a £1 bet, for online customers of the Tote, compared to the industry Starting Price.
In 2021, Cazoo Derby Day was a World Pool event for the first time and saw global betting volumes of £24 million, up from £1.1 million in 2020 when only UK customers bet into the pool. This created unrivalled value for Tote customers, with five out of the seven races paying over the Industry Starting Price (SP) and matching on the remaining two races with Tote Guarantee in place. Cazoo Derby winner Adayar paid £20.24 with Tote+ compared to 16/1 with bookmakers.
World Pool growth on 2022 QIPCO 2000 Guineas Day
With seven pool bet types available in 2022, World Pool betting volumes are likely to exceed those of 2021. The QIPCO 2,000 Guineas last month saw total pool size grow to over £22 million, up from £14.1 million last year, assisted by improved field sizes compared to 2021. The biggest pool of the day was £4.1 million on the feature race, with Tote+ offering exceptional value to customers. Highlights from QIPCO 2,000 Guineas day included:
Tote+ Win beat SP in three of the eight races (and matched on the remaining five races with Tote Guarantee in place, which is available online and at racecourses)
Tote+ Win overround was 104% vs SP overround of 115%
2000 Guineas winner Coroebus was Tote+ Win 7.70 vs 5/1 SP (+28%)
Tote+ Exacta beat forecast on seven out of eight races
Tote+ Trifecta beat Tricast on three out of four races
£50,000 to be won by Racing Staff for World Pool Moment of the Day and Year
World Pool “Moment of the Day” will be awarded by an industry representative at the 16 World Pool days in the lead up to British Champions Day, with the moment decided by a standout performance. This could include a wide-margin winner; a winner from an unlikely position; an extraordinary turn of foot at any point in the race; an above expectation performance by an outsider; or a human or equine interest story.
Racing staff who look after the winning horse for each World Pool “Moment of the Day” will receive £1,000 and a bottle of champagne.
World Pool “Moment of the Day” for 2,000 Guineas Day was won by Coroebus for providing Charlie Appleby with his first 2,000 Guineas victory and James Doyle with his first Classic winner. The £1,000 was awarded to Qadeer Mohammed who works at Moulton Paddocks. On being presented with the cheque Qadeer said: “It is an honour for me to look after such a wonderful horse. It was a very exciting day, and topped off by winning the World Pool Moment of the Day and receiving my £1,000 prize. I am looking forward to the rest of the summer and some more exiting runs from Coroebus.”
At the end of the World Pool season, the 16 winners of “Moment of the Day” at World Pool events will compete for the overall World Pool “Moment of the Year”, which will be presented on British Champions Day. The overall winner will be determined by a combination of scores derived from a public vote and an industry panel. The winning yard who looks after the horse will be awarded the World Pool “Moment of the Year” and receive £34,000.
Adayar winning the 2021 Cazoo Derby at Epsom Downs
Global collaboration to grow World Pool
Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, Chief Executive Officer of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, said: “It is encouraging to see World Pool get off to a strong start for the 2022 British and Irish season with turnover for QIPCO 2000 Guineas Day up over a third on the previous year. World Pool is growing in popularity, with racing fans around the globe, and the significant increase in turnover has enabled investment in prize money and customer experience. We all look forward to enjoying the high-class racing from Epsom Downs on what will be a wonderful weekend of British racing, and we’re delighted World Pool is part of this special occasion.”
John Williamson, Chairman of the UK Tote Group, said: “In the year of the Platinum Jubilee, it is an honour for British racing to be a central part of the celebrations to mark Her Majesty The Queen’s 70 years of service to Great Britain and the Commonwealth. The Tote is committed to playing its part in safeguarding the wellbeing and future of the sport and we are delighted to be offering World Pool to racing fans on both days of this year’s Cazoo Derby Festival. In partnership with the Hong Kong Jockey Club, racecourses, and media rights organisations, we are focused on enhancing the important role that World Pool plays in supporting British and Irish racing financially and more broadly.”
Nevin Truesdale, Chief Executive of The Jockey Club, said: “Off the back of a successful first World Pool Day of 2022 for the QIPCO 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket, the whole team at the Jockey Club are honoured and enormously excited ahead of the Cazoo Derby, which is shaping up to be spectacular. In addition to welcoming racegoers across the official Platinum Jubilee Weekend as we celebrate the historic reign of Her Majesty The Queen, we look forward to fans of racing around the globe enjoying the very best action on the track. It is a pleasure to work with the Hong Kong Jockey Club, the UK Tote, and our media rights partner, Racecourse Media Group, to ensure we maximise the opportunity offered by World Pool to internationalise our sport and boost revenues to reinvest back into British racing.”
Please visit https://worldpool.hkjc.com/ for full details about World Pool and follow @WorldPool on Twitter for all the latest news.
ENDS.
For further information, please contact:
Susannah Gill
Communications and Corporate Affairs Director
UK Tote Group
susannah.gill@uktotegroup.com
07751 870 929
Notes to editors
Please note World Pool events beyond July 2022 are subject to the approval of the Hong Kong Government but Great Britain and Ireland are set to host on the following days in 2022:
QIPCO 2000 Guineas Day – Newmarket Rowley Mile Racecourse, Saturday 30th April
Cazoo Oaks Day – Epsom Downs Racecourse, Friday 3rd June
Cazoo Derby Day – Epsom Downs Racecourse, Saturday 4th June
Royal Ascot – Ascot Racecourse, Tuesday 14th to Saturday 18th June
QIPCO King George Diamond Day – Ascot Racecourse, Saturday 23rd July
Qatar Goodwood Festival – Goodwood Racecourse, Tuesday 26th to Thursday 28th July
Ebor Festival – York Racecourse, Wednesday 17th to Friday 19th August
Longines Irish Champions Day – Leopardstown Racecourse, Saturday 10th September
QIPCO British Champions Day – Ascot Racecourse, Saturday 15th October
There are seven bet types in World Pool for 2022, including the Exacta and Treble for the first time:
Win (Single Leg bet) – Pick the winner of the race
Place (Single Leg bet) – Pick a horse to be placed. Hong Kong place terms apply
Exacta (Single Leg bet) – Pick the first two horses in the correct order
Trifecta (Single Leg bet) – Also known as the Tierce. Select the winner, the second, and the third horse in the correct order
Quinella (Single Leg bet) – Select the first two finishers in either order
Swinger (Single Leg bet) – Also known as the Quinella Place, pick two horses to finish first, second or third in any order
Treble (Multi Leg bet) – Pick the first horse in three races
About UK TOTE GROUP
UK Tote Group is the proud owner and steward of the Tote, the UK’s leading pool betting operator.
The Tote has been a core part of British horseracing since 1928 when it was established by Parliament under Winston Churchill as Chancellor of the Exchequer, to provide the public with a safe way to bet and vital funding for the sport.
UK Tote Group is committed to fulfilling Churchill’s founding mission through a revitalised Tote which provides better value and an improved experience to customers, as well as funding for British horseracing.
The 90-year-old British company is backed by racehorse owners and breeders from around the world. It has an exclusive partnership with British racecourses to provide pool betting services to the six million people who attend race meetings in Great Britain every year, alongside an alliance with Tote Ireland.
The Tote employs 170 people who are based in the Tote’s main office in Wigan and a satellite office in London.