TOTE CHAIRMAN’S THOUGHTS - 2021: THE BENEFITS OF THE BIGGEST WORLD POOL YEAR SO FAR
Thursday 13th May 2021
This week, we were delighted to announce, along with our partners the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) and leading British racecourses, that we are expanding the number of World Pool days in 2021.
In particular, I would like to offer my sincere thanks to Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges and the team at the HKJC for their leadership and cooperation in reaching this agreement.
In 2021, World Pool will be enhanced, providing our customers and the racing industry with a range of benefits, including:
More World Pool days than ever before
The announcement means that racing fans will have more opportunities to bet into World Pool events than in any previous year. British racing will participate in 17 days throughout 2021, on some of the most iconic races in the calendar year:
QIPCO 2000 Guineas Day – Newmarket Rowley Mile Racecourse, Saturday 1st May
Cazoo Derby Day – Epsom Downs Racecourse, Saturday 5th June
Five days of Royal Ascot – Ascot Racecourse, Tuesday 15th to Saturday 19th June
Coral-Eclipse Day – Sandown Park Racecourse, Saturday 3rd July
QIPCO King George Diamond Day – Ascot Racecourse, Saturday 24th July
The first three days of the Qatar Goodwood Festival - Goodwood Racecourse, Tuesday 27th July to Thursday 29th July
Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Day – Ascot Racecourse, Saturday 7th August*
The first three days of the Welcome to Yorkshire Ebor Festival – York Racecourse, Wednesday 18th to Friday 20th August
QIPCO British Champions Day – Ascot Racecourse, Saturday 16th October
A further five new World Pool days have been confirmed, with two racedays from South Africa and three from France.
2. Bringing global racing fans together
World Pool was established to bring together racing fans all over the world into a single pool. Fans from all corners of the world, including Hong Kong, South Africa and the US, will come together to enjoy the top class racing and share in the fun that pool betting offers.
3. Larger pools with smoother pricing and increased value
World Pool at Royal Ascot in 2019 saw pools grow by over 400% to £92.2million, and last year there was a further 50% increase to £137million. The increased liquidity in the pool from a global customer base helped create greater value for Tote customers with the pool price beating the Starting Price (SP) by 32% in 2019 and 9% in 2020.
Added together with the Tote Guarantee, which ensures customers with the Tote never get worse value than SP, as well as Tote+, which gives customers of tote.co.uk a 10% dividend enhancement, it means there is no better place to enjoy pool betting than the Tote.
4. Greater returns to horseracing around the world
The Tote was founded to reinvest revenues from betting back into the sport, and we are proud to remain committed to that principle today. Innovations such as World Pool ensure that pool betting continues to thrive and return funds to the sport we love so much.
International collaboration is integral to the future of pool betting and horseracing globally, and I would like to end by again extending my thanks to our partners for making this possible.
We look forward to continuing to learn through cooperation, and welcome that World Pool will contribute to the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s objectives of reducing illegal gambling in the territory.
For more information about the UK Tote Group please visit www.uktotegroup.com and follow us @UKToteGroup and @ToteRacing.