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 Placepot is certainly a bet that’s worth getting to know a bit better.
Note: Even though the Tote run the daily Placepot, you can also enter the pool via some of the leading bookmakers like bet365.
Today’s Placepot Best Bet
Wednesday 23rd February 2022
Featured Placepot Meeting: DONCASTER
Race ONE: 1:42 Doncaster – Ridgeway has to give 7lbs away to the rest but this Dan Skelton-trained 5 year-old caught the eye when winning on his hurdles debut the this track and can go well again.
A chance is also taken on the hurdling newcomer – Galahad Threepwood. This 5 year-old has some fair flat form around 1m6f and 2m when trained by Mick Channon and is sure to have been well-schooled by the Ben Pauling camp for this first run over the sticks.
Selections: 1, Ridgeway & 3, Galahad Threepwood
Race TWO: 2:15 Doncaster – Just the four runners here so it’s ‘win only’ in terms on the Placepot so it’s worth having two on your side. Dan Skelton’s Message Personnel was a beaten favourite last time out but having looked a bit one-paced that day should be better for the extra 3 ½ furlongs here.
Jamie Snowden’s newcomer – Super Survivor – is the other pick. This former Pointer is having his debut under rules today, but the Snowden yard are having a cracking season (41 winners) and unlike the others in the race he heads here with the scope for the most improvement.
Selections: 3, Super Survivor & 4, Message Personnel
Race THREE: 2:50 Doncaster – Again, a race with just three runners in so we’ll need to find the winner here. Lord Accord will be popular having won three of this last four, but is only up 2lbs for his recent Taunton win and looks to have more to come.
The outside of the trio looks to be Geryville but with just 10st 3lbs to carry gets a lot of weight off the other two. A recent silver medal at Newcastle was a fair effort too so gets in as the ’back-up’ bet here.
Selections: 1, Lord Accord & 3, Geryville
Race FOUR: 3:25 Doncaster – Dingo Dollar has a decent record here at Doncaster and despite his advancing years showed he’s still loving his racing with a solid third at Newcastle in the Rehearsal Chase at the end of November.
With the Venetia Williams yard in good order their Belami Des Pictons is also worth an interest here. This 11 year-old stayed on well to take second at Exeter earlier this month and will love the soft ground.
Selections: 1, Dingo Dollar & 5, Belami Des Pictons
Race FIVE: 4:00 Doncaster – Boss Man Fred is the only course and distance winner in the field and after running over shorter trips of late should be more at home over this longer 3 miles.
Jockey Brian Hughes is expected to have another good ride here with the Donald McCain runner – Gredin – who was only touched off by a head at Catterick last time. The slight drop back in trip is a plus and doesn’t look badly treated for this handicap debut.
Selections: 1, Boss Man Fred & 3, Gredin
Race SIX: 4:35 Doncaster – Recent Lingfield scorer Dolphin Square will enjoy the longer trip here having stayed on well over 3m last time to suggest he’s going to have a big say here.
Getting 8lbs off most of the others, Le Breuil, is the final pick. He’s been placed in the top three in 50% of his 18 chase starts and ran well for his jockey today – Peter Mason – last time at Wetherby.
Selections: 1, Dolphin Square & 6 Le Breuil
Total Lines: 2x2x2x2x2x2 = 64 lines
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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 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 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 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 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 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 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.
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 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.
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