For many, having a bet on the horses is as simple as picking a fancy and then placing a bet on it to win!
However, the ‘good news’ for horse racing punters is there are many different types of bets that can increase your enjoyment of this sport and also potentially give you better returns from the bookmakers.
With that in mind, the Tote Placepot is certainly a bet that’s worth getting to know a bit better.
£25 Matches First Bet
Place your first bet on racing pools and, win or lose, we’ll match your stake up to £25 in Tote Credit. Max Tote Credit is £25. Tote Credit cannot be withdrawn, exchanged, or substituted and expires after 7 days. Qualifying bet is the first racing pool bet added to the bet-slip. Ten to Follow, virtual and football bets do not qualify. Totewin will be the qualifying bet when a Totewin and a Toteplace bet are struck at the same time. New UK & ROI customers only. 18+. Full T&Cs apply.
Today’s Tote Placepot Tips
Sunday 27th February 2022
Featured Tote Placepot Meeting: FONTWELL
Race ONE: 1.50 Fontwell – Just the four runners here so we need to find the winner. But in a race with three of the four runners having plenty to prove it will be a bit of a shock if this isn’t going to the Gary Moore-trained Nassalam, who brings some fair form to the table. Selection Number: 1
Race TWO: 2.20 Fontwell – Another Gary Moore runner here to have on side is Guguss Collonges, who has been in the top three in all his last four races. Yes, a beaten jolly last time out but the longer trip will help and this doesn’t look a great race.
The other in the race with a consistent profile is the Neil Mulholland runner – Concrete King – having finished in the top 5 in his last 9 starts. This 8 year-old is also only having his second run over fences here today so is open to improvement. Selection Numbers: 4 & 5
Race THREE: 2.50 Fontwell – A cracking little race for the track to have with some big names on show, including the Irish raider Darver Star – made even better considering we are close to Cheltenham. This 10 year-old was last seen running well at Lingfield (2nd) at the end of January and with the third – Goshen – since coming out to win twice the form has been franked.
The winner that day was Brewin’upastorm, who had 1 ¼ length in-hand at the line, while he’s also the current winner of this race so we know the track will suit. Selection Numbers: 1 & 6
Race FOUR: 3.20 Fontwell – Another four-runner affair here so the winner is needed. With that in mind the two to have in your corner are Gelino Bello and Jerrash. The former is from the Paul Nicholls yard and is the top-rated in the line-up. He’s run some solid races in better contests this season so repeating those runs would make him hard to beat.
Jerrash is worth a saver too as the Gary Moore yard have won this race twice in the last six years. He’s only had two runs over hurdles but has already shown a good level of form (1 win) and wasn’t disgraced in a Listed affair last time at Huntingdon. Selection Numbers: 1 & 2
Race FIVE: 3.50 Fontwell – A bigger field here with 11 runners entered. Legal Rights has done well this season to win twice and even though his winning run came to an end last time he was actually hampered in the race. Back to Fontwell (course winner) helps and he’s had a month to get over that busy spell.
Getaweapon is the other pick – this Kim Bailey runner has only been out of the first three twice from six runs over hurdles and the handicapper has given her a chance by dropping her 2lbs for a recent close second. Selection Numbers: 5 & 10
Race SIX: 4.20 Fontwell – A Hunters’ Chase to end with here and another four runner race so the winner will be needed. But it would be a shock if this isn’t going to Jett or Shantou Flyer. The former is the clear top-rated in the field at 147 and 12lbs higher than Shantou Flyer. That pair are, however, well clear of the rest in terms of ratings. Both also head here in form off the back of solid runs, while with Shantou Flyer a past course and distance winner, it should be a decent match-up between the two. Selection Numbers: 1 & 2
Total Lines: 1x2x2x2x2x2 = 32 lines
Join Tote today and play the daily PLACEPOT through their site, plus also grab your FREE £25 Matched Bet (Ts&C’s apply)
£25 Matches First Bet
Place your first bet on racing pools and, win or lose, we’ll match your stake up to £25 in Tote Credit. Max Tote Credit is £25. Tote Credit cannot be withdrawn, exchanged, or substituted and expires after 7 days. Qualifying bet is the first racing pool bet added to the bet-slip. Ten to Follow, virtual and football bets do not qualify. Totewin will be the qualifying bet when a Totewin and a Toteplace bet are struck at the same time. New UK & ROI customers only. 18+. Full T&Cs apply.
Tote Placepot Introduction
- A pool (lottery-style) horse racing bet, with the amount taken (the pool of money) at a horse racing meeting, then divided by any winning tickets – meaning the less people that win the more money you win!
- To win the Tote Placepot you need to pick a horse to place in the first six races at any UK, Irish or selected International race meeting.
- In recent years, the Tote Placepot has an average pay out of £407, while it’s a superb way to win big off small stakes – at the 2019 Cheltenham Festival, one customer won £182,567.80 from just a £2 bet.
- Once the first six races (at each meeting) have finished the Tote will give a winning dividend (based on how many winning tickets there are). This dividend is to a £1 stake . e.g. – If the winning dividend is £200 and
- You can play the Placepot at tote.co.uk from 4pm the day before all UK and Irish meetings
What Is A Tote Placepot And How Does It Work?
The Placepot has become the most popular pool bet for UK and Irish horse racing punters as it means you’ve got a chance to have an interest in the first six races.
It’s appeal is that you don’t have to find the winner in each race, but just a horse that will be placed (depending on the number of runners) in each of the first six races of a particular meeting.
The Placepot is run by the Tote and through a pool betting style system, but several leading bookmakers – like bet365 – now also give the option bet on the Placepot on their site – these all still go into the same big universal pool for each separate horse racing meeting.
In short, the more people who have bet in the Placepot the bigger the pool will be.
Therefore, just like the lottery, the fewer people who have placed horses in the first six races at a given horse racing fixture, means the bigger the winning dividend return.
In contrast, should a lot of fancied horses win (or be placed) then there is a strong chance a lot of people would have picked these Placepot horses and the final dividend will be a lot small as it’s shared between more people.
How Does A Tote Placepot Work?
The simple way to play the Placepot is to just pick one horse in each of the first six races – then if ALL of these horses are placed (this depends on the number of runners in the race and race type – more below) you will have a share of the final dividend.
However, once you get familiar with the Placepot, you can also decide to have more than one horse per race – this will increase your chances of winning, but also mean the stake of the bet will be higher.
These are often referred to as ‘Placepot Lines or Perms’
It’s a fairly straightforward calculation to work out how many lines a Placepot with more than one horse in each races will cost.
Simply multiply the number of horses (lines) you have in race one by the number of horses (lines) in race two and then for race three, four, five and six.
For Example
Race One – 2 horses
Race Two – 2 horses
Race Three – 2 horses
Race Four – 2 horses
Race Five – 2 horses
Race Six – 2 horses
This will be 2x2x2x2x2x2 = 64 lines
How Much Can A Tote Placepot Cost?
The beauty here is that you can make it as cheap or as expensive as you want.
There are, however, two minimum stakes to take into account when it comes to the Placepot, the minimum stake per line and the minimum total stake.
The minimum stake per line is 10p, although some operators may allow 5p lines so be sure to shop around, while the minimum total stake is £1.
For example, if we played 10p lines on our example (above) 64-line Tote Placepot above, the total stake would be £6.40, or if we staked each line at 50p it would cost £32.
How Are Tote Placepot Places Determined?
This depends on the number or runners or race type.
1-4 runners – 1st place only
5-7 runners – 1st and 2nd places
8+ runners – 1st, 2nd and 3rd places
16+ runners (handicap races only) – 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th places
How Do I Work Out My Tote Placepot Winnings?
Tote Placepot winnings are universal with the final dividend normally given out around 30 mins after the sixth race has finished.
You can also now follow the progress of the pool at each meeting at the TotePoolLive.com site – this will display the final pool size and the amount of tickets on each horse as each race is run, meaning you can see how you are fairing with the rest of the players through the meeting.
The dividend is worked out at £1 stake, so if you only have a winning line at 10p then the dividend will be divided by 10 e.g. a winning dividend at £200 at 10p will mean a £20 return.
To work out how much your return is – multiply your stake per line by the amount of winning lines you have. Your winnings will then be either that percentage of the published £1-stake winnings or a multiple of the published dividend.
For example:
If the Placepot is paying £500 to a £1 stake and you have four winning 20p lines then you have a total of 80p in winning bets. You win £400, or 80p-worth of the £1 winnings published.
Or:
If the Tote Placepot pays £400 to a £1 stake and you have two winning £1 lines, your total of £2 of winning bets means you win £800.
How Many Lines Should I Have In My Tote Placepot?
Some horse racing punters will attempt just a single line, which means selecting just one horse in each of the six races. This ‘straight line’ bet can be a tricky ‘all your eggs in one basket’ approach, but if you do get through all six races with a horse placed then you are generally rewarded well.
On the opening day of the 2019 Cheltenham Festival, one punter staked one £2 line and managed to select four winners and two runners-up in the first six races.
As there were several big-priced horses placed on the card the winning dividend paid a staggering £91,283.10 to a £1 stake, meaning this punter bagged double the dividend – £182,567.80!!
That said, most Placepot punters often like to make multiple selections in the races with more horses in as this will give them a better chance of getting a horse placed.
Tote Placepot Top Tips
Banker Races
For the bulk of Tote Placepot punters, the balance is keeping an eye on the number of selections and the total stake – it’s tempting to put 4 or 5 horses in some races, but the perms on this can quickly add up which means your final stake will be very high.
With that in mind, if there are certain races with a hot favourite in, then many like to take a punt on just having this one horse in which will keep costs down.
Note though, if these hot favourites blow out then this will knock a lot of people out and, therefore, increase the final pool dividend a lot.
Take On Dodgy Favourites
As mentioned in the previous section, when a fancied horses fails to place this is where the Placepot final payouts can get massive.
Sometimes it’s a juggling act of playing safe and following the crowd or taking a chance of a hot favourite not running well and, in the process, increasing the final pool dividend.
Let’s be honest, it’s not hard to pick a favourite in each of the six races, but if they do all place, then the chances are that you’ll be sharing this Placepot
Have Multiple Lines In Big-Field Races
The beauty of having one or two banker legs though (1 pick in a race) is that this frees up space for a potential big handicap race later on in the card – meaning you can possibly have 3 or 4 picks in that race to increase your chance.
Remember though, if you have 3 or 4 picks in a certain race and two get placed then you get both lines going through to the next leg – which will increase your final payout.
A good example of this are races at the Cheltenham Festival as most days there is a mix of so-called Festival bankers and big-field handicaps, where 20+ runners or more are entered
Betting on Cheltenham? Check out the latest Cheltenham betting offers and free bets.
What Happens To Tote Placepot Pick Non-Runners?
If one of your Placepot selections is a non-runner, then that horse will revert to the SP favourite. If there are joint or co-favourites, the lowest racecard number carries your money.
So, if horses numbers 1 and 4 are joint-favourites, it is horse number 1 that will take place of your selected non-runner.
£25 Matches First Bet
Place your first bet on racing pools and, win or lose, we’ll match your stake up to £25 in Tote Credit. Max Tote Credit is £25. Tote Credit cannot be withdrawn, exchanged, or substituted and expires after 7 days. Qualifying bet is the first racing pool bet added to the bet-slip. Ten to Follow, virtual and football bets do not qualify. Totewin will be the qualifying bet when a Totewin and a Toteplace bet are struck at the same time. New UK & ROI customers only. 18+. Full T&Cs apply.
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