What is World Pool?
World Pool is a collaboration between global totes and the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC).
World Pool allows bettors from all over the globe to bet into a single pool, bringing them together into one multi-million pound pool betting experience.
Through national commingling, racing fans from countries such as Hong Kong, Australia, France, the USA and the UK all effectively bet into the same pool for each race.
After huge success for World Pool across key British and Irish fixtures such as Royal Ascot and British Champions Day, the Hong Kong Jockey Club is set to host more World Pool days on British and Irish race meetings.
BET WITH THE WORLD POOL
What does that mean for bettors?
By having a number of different countries betting into the same overall pool, it means racing fans can pit their wits against bettors from all around the globe. More importantly though, it means that there will be more liquidity in the pools, with opportunities better value as a consequence.
With more individuals betting into the pool it means that big stakes bettors will have less of an impact on the dividend, providing more robust betting opportunities.
UK runners could be underestimated by the international pools, or the raiders could be looked over by the UK Tote customers. This difference of opinion could ensure a bigger price that one might be expecting about certain horses on the day.
At British Champions Day, Tote beat SP on five of the six winners on the card, so there’s plenty of value to enjoy courtesy of World Pool.
What are the World Pool days?
World Pool events in first half of 2024 include:
January
Saturday 27: Cape Town Met Day – Kenilworth Racecourse (P)
February
Saturday 24: Blue Diamond Stakes Day – Caulfield Racecourse (P)
Saturday 24: Saudi Cup Race Day – King Abdulaziz Racecourse (P)
March
Saturday 30: Australian Cup Day – Flemington Racecourse (P)
Saturday 30: Tancred Stakes Day – Rosehill Gardens Racecourse (P)
Saturday 30: Dubai World Cup Day – Meydan Racecourse (P)
April
Saturday 6: South African Derby Day – Turffontein Racecourse (P)
Saturday 13: Queen Elizabeth Stakes Day – Randwick Racecourse (F)
May
Saturday 4: 2000 Guineas Day – Newmarket Racecourse (F)
Sunday 5: 1000 Guineas Day – Newmarket Racecourse (P)
Saturday 18: Lockinge Stakes Day – Newbury Racecourse (P)
Sunday 26: Irish 1000 Guineas Day – Curragh Racecourse (P)
June
Saturday 1: Derby Stakes Day – Epsom Racecourse (F)
Saturday 8: Gold Challenge – Greyville Racecourse (S)
Tuesday 18: King’s Stand Stakes Day – Ascot Racecourse (F)
Wednesday 19: Prince of Wales’s Stakes Day – Ascot Racecourse (F)
Thursday 20: Gold Cup Day – Ascot Racecourse (F)
Friday 21: Commonwealth Cup Day – Ascot Racecourse (F)
Saturday 22: Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes – Ascot Racecourse (F)
Sunday 30: Irish Derby Day – Curragh Racecourse (F)
July
Saturday 6th July - Eclipse Stakes, Sandown
Saturday 27th July - King George Day, Ascot
Tuesday 30th July - Glorious Goodwood Day 1, Goodwood
Wednesday 31st July - Glorious Goodwood Day 2, Goodwood
August
Thursday 1st August - Glorious Goodwood Day 3, Goodwood
Wednesday 21st August - International Stakes Day, York
Thursday 22nd August - Yorkshire Oaks Day, York
Friday 23rd August - Nunthorpe Stakes Day, York
September
Saturday 14th September - Irish Champion Stakes Day, Leopardstown, Ire
Sunday 15th September - Irish St Leger Day, Curragh, Ire
October
Saturday 12th October - Sun Chariot Stakes Day, Newmarket
Saturday 19th October - British Champions Day, Ascot
*F: Full meeting - World Pool coverage on all races in the relevant meeting
P: Part meeting - World Pool coverage only on selected races in the relevant meeting
How much money is bet into World Pool?
World Pools were available on both Royal Ascot and British Champions Day last year, where bettors had the chance to win a share of some monumental pools. At Royal Ascot, £137 million was bet into the World Pool, up from £92 million the year before, and we could see even more this year.
As well as the straight Win and Place markets, World Pool will be in operation for a number of Exotic bets such as the Tote Swinger and Quinella, which were involved last year, plus new additions the Exacta and Trifecta.
Some of these bet types are extremely popular in other racing nations, even more so than the Win market. For example, last year at Royal Ascot, there was nearly £2 million more bet into the Quinella pools than the Win pools across the meeting.
What bet types are eligible for World Pool?
• Win – 17.5% Takeout
• Place – 17.5% Takeout
• Quinella – 17.5% Takeout
• Swinger / Quinella Place – 17.5% Takeout
• Trifecta / Tierce – 25% Takeout
• Exacta / Forecast – 19.5%
• Treble – 25%
Is there a maximum bet or maximum payout?
There are no maximum limits to the amount of money that can be staked or won on a Tote bet. (The size of the pool provides a natural limit to the available winnings)
Are there any bet types which aren’t World Pool?
The Placepot and our other multileg bets won’t be commingled. The Tote Exacta is another pool which will only be available to UK bettors.
How can I watch World Pool races?
You can watch every World Pool race live at Tote.co.uk by simply logging into your account having previously made a deposit.
More about World Pool
World Pool was created by Hong Kong Jockey Club and brings together racing fans from over 20 nations so everyone is effectively betting into one pool creating huge liquidity. It's like the EuroMillions version of the lottery.
World Pool in the UK is operated by the Tote. You can bet with the Tote at tote.co.uk, tote.ie, or on the Tote App, at a racecourse, or with a bookmaker as most offer Tote bets in shops and online.
The pool betting model means the Tote is agnostic about results so welcomes winning customers and will not restrict bet sizes.
The international nature of World Pool means there is some great value to be found across markets. For example, Hong Kong racing fans will tend to over bet on jockeys they know so shorten their price, meaning other runners are over-priced respective to their chances.
There are currently seven bet types included in World Pool. These are Win, Place, Forecast, Trifecta (first, second and third in correct order), Quinella (first two in either order) and Swinger (two in the first three) and Treble.
The 2021 Derby was a World Pool event for the first time and saw the pool grow from £1.7 million to over £26 million with winners paying more on the Tote. For example, Adayar paid £20.24 on the Tote compared to 16-1 with bookmakers.
There are 17 World Pool days on British and Irish racing in 2023, including QIPCO King George Diamond Day, first three days of the Qatar Goodwood Festival, the first three days of the Welcome to Yorkshire Ebor Festival, Longines Irish Champions Day at Leopardstown and QIPCO British Champions Day.
World Pool means bigger financial returns to British racing through increased media rights payments to racecourses and more revenue generated via pool betting.
