Welcome to Yorkshire Ebor Festival set to host World Pool for first time
Tuesday 17th August 2021
For the first time the Welcome to Yorkshire Ebor Festival will be a World Pool event.
Across the first three days of the festival, racing fans from around the world will have the opportunity to bet into a single pool ensuring larger and deeper pools, differentiated pricing, and the opportunity for unequalled value for Tote customers.
British racing has so far hosted 12 World Pool days in 2021 at QIPCO 2000 Guineas Day, Cazoo Derby Day, Royal Ascot, Coral-Eclipse Day, QIPCO King George Diamond Day and the Qatar Goodwood Festival.
In total, over £250 million has been bet into World Pool on British race days in 2021. Alongside the vast liquidity created by World Pool, the Tote provides customers betting on tote.co.uk with extra value. This includes Tote Guarantee which ensures the Win price always matches or exceeds the Industry Starting Price (SP), while Tote+ (Tote Plus) gives all customers a 10% dividend enhancement on every winning bet.
This year’s World Pool at Royal Ascot saw the Tote+ Win price beat the Industry SP on 21 occasions and match on 14 occasions across the 35 races. This resulted in a 11% higher return, compared to SP, for Tote+ bets placed on tote.co.uk, based on placing a £1 bet on each winner during the week.
At the Qatar Goodwood Festival, 17 of the 22 winners were bigger on the Tote than with bookmakers, and the Tote matched on the remaining five. This meant Tote customers were £34.63 better off with Tote+ to a £1 stake on every winner, which is 14.2% better than the SP. Six of the 22 races finished with “overbroke” final dividends betting to less than 100%, compared to an average overround of 15% with the bookmakers – this simply never happens in any other betting environment.
Ghaiyyath winning the Juddmonte International Stakes in 2020
Bridget Guerin, Chairman of York Racecourse, said: “York Racecourse is delighted that all three of our midweek racedays of the Welcome to Yorkshire Ebor Festival are World Pool events. This includes our three Group 1 races including the Longines World’s Best Race, the £1m Juddmonte International. We look forward to having the opportunity to showcase our feature race meeting to a global betting audience and to build on the sport’s ongoing work with the teams at both the Hong Kong Jockey Club and the Tote to grow pool betting on British racing.”
Alex Frost, Chief Executive of the UK Tote Group, said: “With 17 World Pool days being hosted at British and Irish race meetings in 2021, it is exciting to see the growing awareness of the exceptional value World Pool can offer to Tote customers, and the financial benefits it brings to racecourses and the wider sport. We look forward to once again seeing the World Pool brand oncourse at York this week as we all look forward to an excellent week of racing.”
The Welcome to Yorkshire Ebor Festival marks the continuation of the first ever summer of international horse racing made available to Hong Kong customers while their local industry is in season recess.
After the Welcome to Yorkshire Ebor Festival, The Longines Irish Champion Stakes Day at Leopardstown on Saturday 11th September will be a World Pool event for the first time in 2021, followed by QIPCO British Champions Day on Saturday 16th October.
For more information about the UK Tote Group please visit www.uktotegroup.com and follow us @UKToteGroup and @ToteRacing.
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
The 17 World Pool days from the UK and Ireland in 2021 are:
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
The first three days of the Welcome to Yorkshire Ebor Festival – York Racecourse, Wednesday 18th to Friday 20th August
Longines Irish Champion Stakes Day – Leopardstown Racecourse, Saturday 11th September
QIPCO British Champions Day – Ascot Racecourse, Saturday 16th October
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 150 people who are based in the Tote’s main office in Wigan and a satellite office in London.
About Hong Kong Jockey Club
Founded in 1884, The Hong Kong Jockey Club is a world-class racing club that acts continuously for the betterment of our society. The Club has a unique integrated business model, comprising racing and racecourse entertainment, a membership club, responsible sports wagering and lottery, and charities and community contribution. Through this model, the Club generates economic and social value for the community and supports the Government in combatting illegal gambling. In 2018/19, the Club made a record return to the Government of HK$23.3 billion in duty and profits tax and contributed HK$1.3 billion to the Lotteries Fund. Approved charity and community donations were HK$4.3 billion. The Club is Hong Kong’s largest single taxpayer and one of the city’s major employers. Its Charities Trust is also one of the world’s top ten charity donors. The Club is always “riding high together for a better future” with the people of Hong Kong. Please visit www.hkjc.com.
About York Racecourse
York Racecourse is one of the leading racecourses in the world and was voted “UK Racecourse of the Year 2019” by both the Racegoers Club and Racehorse Owners Association. First formed in 1731, this city centre racecourse two hours north of London, has a proud tradition of hosting some of the best racing in the European Calendar. The Welcome to Yorkshire Ebor Festival in mid-August is York’s flagship meeting which combines top quality racing action with fashion, atmosphere, fabulous hospitality and a Yorkshire welcome.