World Pool grows 38% at Ebor Festival

Saturday 20th August 2022

• Over £93 million bet into World Pool across the first three days of the Ebor Festival

• Next World Pool event at Longines Irish Champion Stakes Day on Saturday 10th September

The Ebor Festival at York Racecourse saw £93.2 million bet into World Pool across the opening three-days.

Gross Turnover for World Pool bets increased by 38% on 2021’s figure of £67.7 million.  

Exceptional Value for Tote customers at the Ebor Festival

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.

The Tote offered customers exceptional value across the 21 races at the Ebor Festival:

• Tote+ Win beat SP in 15 of the 21 races (and matched on the remaining six with Tote Guarantee in place)

• Tote+ Win overround was 104% vs SP overround of 122%

• Tote+ Exacta beat Forecast on 19 out of 21 races

• Tote+ Trifecta beat Tricast on 12 out of 15 races

 £3,000 won by Racing Staff for World Pool “Moment of the Day” at the Ebor Festival

At each World Pool event there is a “Moment of the Day” which will be awarded by an industry representative, 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” receive £1,000 and a bottle of champagne. At the Ebor Festival, the following members of Racing Staff won “World Pool Moment of the Day”:

• Wednesday 17th August: Ricky Hall, groom of Baaeed who recorded his 10th consecutive win with another dominating performance in the Group 1 Juddmonte International

• Thursday 18th August: Annabel Willis, groom of Alpinista who recorded her 7th consecutive win with a brilliant performance in the Group 1 Darley Yorkshire Oaks

• Friday 19th August: Satrejeet Ghingree, groom of Highfield Princess who won her second Group 1 when landing the Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe Stakes

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.  

Global collaboration continues to grow World Pool

William Derby, Chief Executive of York Racecourse: “After what has been another world class Ebor Festival, we are delighted to see such significant interest and growth in World Pool over all the three racedays at York Racecourse. The combination of top-quality racing action, including the victory of the highest rated racehorse in the world in the Juddmonte International, and strong field sizes of 266 runners across 21 races appears to have generated huge appeal with racing fans around the world. By bringing together global pools, World Pool financially benefits the British racing industry and York Racecourse is committed to investing 100% of all its forecast media rights to prize money to support the sport at this crucial time. As a case in point, the prize money for our World Pool days of £4.6m in 2022 was around £1m up on both 2019 and 2021 so demonstrating that virtuous circle of attractive prize money, good horses and competitive fields, strong betting interest, good revenue, attractive prize money. Our thanks to the Horsemen who understand that strong field sizes are to mutual benefit so important moving forward. We look forward to continuing to work with the Hong Kong Jockey Club, UK Tote and the Racecourse Media Group to further the success of World Pool.”

Alex Frost, Chief Executive of the UK Tote Group, said: “The Tote has once again provided great value to customers betting on the top-class racing from the Ebor Festival. With an overround of 104%, versus an Industry Starting Price overround of 122%, the Tote is offering racing fans unrivalled betting value. I would like to thank Bridget Guerin, William Derby and all of the team at York Racecourse for their collaboration and extensive support of World Pool this week which perfectly demonstrates the benefits of mutual co-operation and partnership at the heart of World Pool. We look forward to the next World Pool event at Irish Champion Stakes Day, before concluding the 2022 season at QIPCO British Champions Day.”

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

Great Britain and Ireland will host on the following World Pool 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 Champion Stakes 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.