Placepot betting provides ample opportunities for punters to scoop large payouts from relatively small stakes. The rules are very similar to pool betting in football. While it is still rather niche, horse racing enthusiasts will be able to enjoy placepot betting online. In this comprehensive guide, we will explore the art of mastering placepot betting.
Top UK Sites for a Placepot Bet
- All
- Placepot bet
Bet £5, Get £20 in Free Bets
Bet £5, Get £20 in Free Bets
- Tote+ enhanced dividends
- SP guaranteed
- Weekly free bet deal
50% Back up to £35 Free Bet + 10 Free Spins
50% Back up to £35 Free Bet + 10 Free Spins
- Dedicated QuinnPools platform
- Plenty of pool betting
- Play against syndicates
Bet £10 & Get £30 in Free Bets for new customers at bet365
Bet £10 & Get £30 in Free Bets for new customers at bet365
- 20+ betting offers for all customers
- Deposit via PayPal, Trustly and Apple Pay
- Great live streaming and mobile app
Bet £10 Get £50 in Bonuses
Bet £10 Get £50 in Bonuses
- Former partners of Tote
- Totepool platform on site
- Select international meetings
Bet £5, Get £20 in Free Bets
Bet £5, Get £20 in Free Bets
- Dedicated Tote betslip
- Placepot tips available
- Leading bookie & exchange
Bet £10 Get £20 + Free Bet If 2nd To SP Fav
Bet £10 Get £20 + Free Bet If 2nd To SP Fav
Bet £5 Get £20 in Free Bets
Bet £5 Get £20 in Free Bets
- Placepots next to meetings
- All UK and Irish races
- Big-time bookie
Get £20 in Free Bets When You Bet £5
Get £20 in Free Bets When You Bet £5
- Every UK & Irish meeting
- Placepot links on horse racing page
- Star ratings & stats
Bet £5 Get £20 in Free Bets
Bet £5 Get £20 in Free Bets
- Placepots in Tote tab
- Some international meetings
- Easy to use for pool bets
Best Placepot Betting Sites List
Originally known as a Tote pools bet, the best Placepot betting sites will be those where you can predict a horse to be placed in the first six races of a single meeting. See below our recommended Placepot sportsbooks for 2024.
- Tote – Inventors of placepot bets with bigger dividends than other bookmakers
- QuinnBet – Dedicated QuinnPools platform with pay to play against syndicates
- Bet365 – Placepots clearly listed next to each meeting and one of the best betting apps around
- Betfred – Former partners of the Tote and offers for selected international meetings
- William Hill – Placepot default setting on Tote and established bookmaker
- Betfair – Great for Daily Tote betting and placepot tips
- Ladbrokes – Easy to find odds with UK and Irish horse racing included
- Coral – See star ratings and access stats from meetings
- Sky Bet – Tote tab available on horse racing page
What is a Placepot Bet? Placepot Betting Explained
So, at this point, you may wish to know the principle behind a placepot bet. To place a bet on the Tote Placepot pool, you must select one horse from each of the first six races at a specific British or Irish race meet. There will be no limit to the number of horses that can be selected for each race, however, be wary that the more horses incorporated into the bet, then the higher the bet cost will be. Admired by novice as well as seasonal bettors alike, you can stake as little as £0.05 on each race.
On occasion, you may find a Tote placepot that will cover a major international event, such as the Breeders’ Cup in the USA or the Dubai World Cup. Ultimately, the placings considered for the placepot will be determined by the number of runners in the field. So, for example, if a race contains a small field of up to 4 runners, only first position will be considered in the placepot. Whereas if there are 16 or more runners lining up for a race, the placepot will take into account the horses that finish in first, second, third, and fourth spots. At Betfair, for example, returns are based on a £1 stake.
Placepot is just one of many Tote bet types. Among the others include:
- Tote Jackpot – You have to pick six winners at today’s jackpot meetings.
- Quadpot – Instead of covering six races, your bet types will include the outcome of races 3,4,5 and 6.
- Trifecta – Pick the horse to finish in the top three of a race.
- Scoop6 – Choose 6 winners in nominated races.
How Placepot Bets Work
To indulge in a Placepot bet, you will need to choose one of the aforementioned bookies mentioned in our list. You will also have to select at least one horse per meeting, as well as determine your stake level. If you are using a bookmaker with a heavy placepot presence, the process is rather straightforward. Here’s how it works using QuinnBet as an example.
Firstly, select the meeting you wish to do a Placepot bet for, so here, you could pick a Wolverhampton placepot. Then, begin by compiling the first leg of your wager:
You will be required to keep adding legs to your wager. If the race is rather open or fiercely competitive, you may wish to have more than one selection on your placepot betting slip. Not only will this boost your unit stake on the placepot bet, but it will also encompass a wide range of permutations.
Once you have confirmed your selection for all six races on one particular day, then simply enter your stake. Most bookies will let you go as low as £0.05 per line for a placepot bet, so you can garner big wins with small stakes.
Placepot Bet Rules
The placepot rules are very simple to understand, so a beginner will be able to grasp the basic premise of it. You just have to bear in mind that every selection creates one more line, so the prize will be divided between all the winners. Let’s now look at the different elements of the placepot, including how to calculate placepot wins.
- Placepot cost
The total cost of your placepot will be influenced by the number of lines you choose. As mentioned, selecting multiple runners per race can produce eye-watering stakes. So, if you have two selections per race for example, this will equate to a £64 stake, as the number of selections are multiplied each time. If you had three selections per race, this would soar to £729.
For many punters, having two or more selections may be unobtainable or financially challenging, but don’t worry if the maths goes over you, as most bookmakers will have a placepot calculator that will figure out the size of your stake.
- Determining Placepot Places
Placepot betting relies on the same rules to determine placing, as you will find with most meetings. So, if you have ever placed an each-way bet, you will notice that only certain places count depending on the size of the field. As previously mentioned, if there is a field with a maximum of four runners, then you will get a payout if your horse finishes first, however this rises to the top four spots for handicap races where there are a minimum of 16 runners and riders.
- Placepot prize pool and working out the winnings
After the race is complete, the bookies will typically help themselves to 27% of the prize pool, leaving the remaining 73% to be split among those who correctly predicted the placepot results.
If fewer favourites prevail, then the dividend amount will generally be higher, as placepot players tend to go more for the favourites, so the prize will go to fewer players.However, if more players have correct predictions, then the dividend per unit will habitually be much smaller.
- What happens if one of my Placepot bets is a non-runner?
If one of your picks ends up being a non-runner, your bet won’t be voided. Placepot running pools won’t pay out on five horse racing results either. Instead, you will be automatically moved over to the SP favourite. In the event of there being co-favourites for a race, your replacement horse will be ranked as number 1 on the racecard.
Biggest Placepot Race Meetings
Placepot totals will generally be quite small on any given race day. Indeed, betting levels will remain lower for a standard meet compared to Grade I races where racing enthusiasts will have more knowledge about horses with pedigree over a particular distance. The table below highlights the big meetings on the Flat as well as jumps which is available at the best betting sites. You can also win big with a placepot bet.
| Meeting | Date | Racecourse | Code of Races |
| Cheltenham Festival | March | Cheltenham | National Hunt |
| Grand National | April | Aintree | National Hunt |
| Scottish Grand National | April | Ayr | National Hunt |
| Guineas Festival | May | Newmarket | Flat |
| Derby Festival | June | Epsom Downs | Flat |
| Royal Ascot | June | Ascot | Flat |
| July Festival | July | Newmarket | Flat |
| Glorious Goodwood | July/August | Goodwood | Flat |
| Ebor Festival | August | York | Flat |
| St Leger Festival | September | Doncaster | Flat |
| British Champions Day | October | Ascot | Flat |
| November Meeting | November | Cheltenham | National Hunt |
| Winter Carnival | November | Newbury | National Hunt |
| Christmas Festival | December | Kempton Park | National Hunt |
| Welsh Grand National | December | Chepstow | National Hunt |
The Cheltenham placepot is one of the biggest in the UK, as it attracts plenty of casual bettors. Whereas, the Lingfield placepot is also a popular racing venue where you can find odds for notable events, such as the Lingfield Derby Trial.
How we Rank the Best Placepot Betting Sites
Now that we have shown you how to carry out a placepot bet, it is time to see what distinguishes the best from the rest. At Sportslens, we have industry experts who know where to find a placepot and how it should be used. We have even asked for snapshots of a placepot live to see which betting platforms can facilitate this. Although not all horse racing betting sites have a placepot function incorporated, here are some of the main criteria for which we judge them:
- Placepot dividends
While perhaps stating the obvious, all dividends paid out through a placepot should be generous. After all, finding six horses to place in consecutive races is no mean feat. While the wager is meant to be fun, you should be aware that a Tote placepot pays out more than a run-of-the-mill bookie. - Odds
The odds should be in your favour when it comes to placepot pools. BoyleSports allows you to combine odds on your betting slip, and it claims to have the best odds guaranteed. - Bonuses & Promos
While you are unlikely to find any special deals pertaining to a placepot type of bet, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t explore further. All the top sites mentioned in this guide allow you to have more than one line, but with a Tote placepot, you can activate a Placepot insurance if you lose the first leg of your wager. - Mobile Experience
The placepot hasn’t escaped the attention of bookmakers, who endeavour to provide the best apps to help punters, so they should be user friendly Ladbrokes has one of the best horse racing betting apps that serves iOS and Android customers. - Live placepot results
For those that want to beat the daily rush, it is essential to have access to the placepot results. Sometimes, over the din of the crowd, you may have missed the result. However, a live placepot bet keeps you in the know. Betfred is held in high regard when it comes to placepot results. - Licensing & Security
All bookmakers should reassure punters that they can make a placepot bet using a secure and trusted platform. Most sites nowadays will be encrypted and use the latest SSL technologies to protect players. Sky, for example, has Tote betting on every page, but it is also one of the safest betting sites around.
Where to Find Live Placepot Results?
You will want to know how your placepot performed. At all the sites mentioned above, you can access the placepots today for free, and here is a list of the best betting platforms that offer this service. Most will also have betting promo codes which can be used:
Pros & Cons of Placepot Betting
While foraging for a placepot style of bet may seem rather appetising, there are also some downsides. At Sportslens, we don’t want to pull the wool over your eyes, so let’s have a look at the advantages and drawbacks of wagering with placepots:
Pros Cons
Placepot Betting Tips – How to Profit from Placepot Betting
So, you now understand the parameters of placepot betting, it is time to put those skills you have acquired to good use. While mastering placepot betting isn’t an exact science, if you follow our five ultimate tips below, then you won’t go too far wrong:
Tip 1: Pick A Few Banker Selections
Sometimes it can pay off by avoiding the favourite. We are only too aware that no race involving placepots will be easy. There can be a strong case for three or more horses winning, especially if it is a competitive field.
A placepot selection is only considered a banker if it is the only horse that is most likely to place in a race, so it requires you throwing your full support behind it. By picking bankers, the number of bets in your placepot collection will appear eminently more manageable as opposed to staking lots to cover all eventualities.
Where there is a clear favourite, just go for a single pick. This will help you to keep your lines down, so you can use them to select multiple horses in a more competitive leg.
Tip 2: Fixed Odds Betting Should Act as A Guide
While you are leafing through the placepot live pools betting, don’t overlook the fixed odds section. The fixed odds will act as a gauge for what the market is thinking before a race. At exchanging betting platforms, such as Betfair, you can track movers in the market, so you will be able to detect whether a horse’s odds have changed overnight or whether there is late backing for him in the last few moments before the race.
Tip 3: Always Study The Form
With horse racing, there are always so many variables to take into consideration. Make sure you equip yourself with as much knowledge as possible attention to aspects of the course, such as conditions, so whether the going is firm, good to firm, or soft. Will they suit the horse you have backed? Also, what were the profiles of the most recent winners? If you want to make an informed decision, you need to read up as much as possible, so you can give yourself the best possible chance of success.
Tip 4: Underdogs and Targeting Vulnerable Favourites
Not every favourite in horse racing lives up to their hype. Favourites on average, are beaten two-thirds of the time, so remember, if you can find any chinks in the market leader, then you will be able to get value for money with your placepots. Leaving vulnerable favourites out of your lines therefore can keep you in the hunt for big returns.
Just like in straight betting, underdogs have bigger payout levels. If there is a favourite that has a good chance of losing, either avoid these or combine them with strong underdogs. Big-field handicap races work well for this kind of strategy.
Tip 5: Think Carefully About the Number of Lines in Your Placebet
Some punters may opt to go for a single line, therefore choosing just one horse to place in each of the 6 races. However, there have been instances where a punter has won big from a single placepot line.
At the 2019 Cheltenham Festival, a punter managed to win £182,567.80 from a £2 bet, so while luck played a key part in their success, it is also about weighing up the risk/reward side of things.
Betting on multiple lines gives you more chance of success, but make sure you don’t overextend yourself.
Conclusion
A placepot bet has its place when it comes to horse racing although it can be seen as a lottery. Winnings can be large or small, but if you can nail down a strategy, they can work in the long term. Arguably, they can be more fun than other bet types, and the sites we have mentioned here are recommended.
However, at the same time, placepots should also be treated with caution. While it can be fun seeing your placepot go down to the last race, there is a degree of risk involved. Remember, if you want to try out a placepot, make sure you bet responsibly.
Top Rated UK Site for a Placepot Bet
Bet £5, Get £20 in Free Bets
Bet £5, Get £20 in Free Bets
- Tote+ enhanced dividends
- SP guaranteed
- Weekly free bet deal
FAQs
What is a placepot bet?
How does a placepot bet work?
How does a placepot payout?
How do you work out a placepot?
Is a placepot a good bet?
Which bookies do placepot?
