The Cheltenham Festival placepot is a popular bet that’s grabbed some big headlines in the past and one you can win big at Cheltenham for little stakes.
DID YOU KNOW? The Tote are also guaranteeing a minimum placepot pool of £1m EVERY DAY
Cheltenham Placepot Tips – Day One Selections on Tuesday 14th March 2023
- Race One (1:30pm): El Etait Temps (8) & Marine Nationale (10)
- Race Two (2:10pm): Jonbon (6) & Dysart Dynamo (2)
- Race Three (2:50pm): Oscar Elite (17), Monbeg Genius (15) & Fastorslow (6)
- Race Four (3:30pm): Constitution Hill (1) & State Man (5)
- Race Five (4:10pm): Marie’s Rock (6) & Love Envoi (5)
- Race Six (4:50pm): Byker (5), Bad (8) & Jazzy Matty (10)
Placepot Bet Cost: 2x2x3x2x2x3 = 144 bets
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Cheltenham Placepot Tips: Day One, Tuesday 14th March 2023
We get going with the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at 1:30pm and even though Facile Vega will be popular we are happy to have the second and third favourires in here – El Etait Temps and Marine Nationale.
Jonbon and Dysart Dynamo get the nod in the Arkle at 2:10 – El Faboilo is the other big player, but with 3 places up for grabs we’d be unlucky not to go through here in a race that lacks depth.
More competitive here in the Ultima Chase (2:50), so three picks. Last years’ third Oscar Elite looks a solid pick, with the Jonjo O’Neill-trained Monbeg Genius and Irish runner Fastorslow – let’s hope it’s fast!
Constitution Hill and State Man should be filling the first two places in the Champion Hurdle (3:30). Then Marie’s Rock, who won the Mares’ Hurdle (4:10) last year, can go well again, with another past Festival winner Love Envoi as the back-up.
The final race (4:50) is the Boodles and another tough leg. Three will be running for us, with Byker, Bad for Rachael Blackmore, and the Gordon Elliott runner – Jazzy Matty – getting the nod.
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At the 2019 Cheltenham Festival one lucky placepot punter scooped just over £180,000 from a £2 bet.
With that in mind, the Tote Placepot is certainly a Cheltenham Festival bet that’s worth getting to know a bit better. While the Tote are also guaranteeing a £1m placepot pool for EVERY DAY.
We explain the placepot in more detail below. Plus give you our free Cheltenham placepot selections for the opening day – Tuesday 14th March 2023. You can also join up with the Tote to claim a £20 free credit.
Cheltenham Placepot Tips for Day One (Tuesday 14th March 2023)
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. This means you’ve got a chance to have an interest in the first six races.
Its appeal is that you don’t have to find the winner in each race. However, 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. Several leading bookmakers – like bet365 – now also give the option bet on the Placepot on their site. And these bets 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, 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 horses. In this case, 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 (based on the number of runners 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. It’s a fun way to 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. However, 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. 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. Yes, it’s tempting to put 4 or 5 horses in some races – however, 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 maybe 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. 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. This 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
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What Happens To Tote Placepot 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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