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People have been betting on the outcome of horse races as long as we have been racing horses and the ways in which to bet have become ever more sophisticated and indeed complicated. Betting is an integral part of a raceday and win or lose it helps racegoers feel a part of the action when they have some vested interest in the outcome of the races. It also adds to the thrill and excitement of the racing spectacle itself. Winning is better than losing however and a placepot is one way in which anyone can take part in raceday betting regardless of their experiences of either racing or betting. |
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Many people will be familiar with the fixed odds betting as offered by bookmakers. These odds are devised by the bookmaker to reflect the probability of certain outcomes and so if a horse has odds of say 3/1, often described and written as '3 to 1', then the bookie predicts that horse, if given four attempts at the race would win once. What this means for the bettor, if those odds reflect the true probabilities, is that they would expect to win at those odds once in every four attempts also and would need to do so in order to break even, if they bet the same amount each time.
And it gets more complicated. In the above example these are odds 'against' an event, which means that the horse winning is unlikely. There are also 'odds on' bets which give rise to the oft repeated phrase 'odds on favourite'.
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An odds on example would be 1/3, often described as 3 to 1 on. A horse at this price would be expected to win the race three out of four times and so winning is more likely than not and the return of any bet placed is much less to reflect this. A £1 stake on a horse which wins at 3/1 would return £3 plus the stake which is £4 in total. A £1 stake on a winning horse at 1/3 would return the stake of £1 plus winnings of 33p, £1.33 in total.
Betting using fixed odds can be confusing for those who are new to racing or under pressure to place their bets on time. In the examples above these are bets and returns based on the horse winning. Other options allow for place bets, where we will get a return if the horse comes in first or within a certain defined position in the race, such as second or third, and even fourth in races with many runners. |
Most bookmakers will not permit place bets on their own but only as a part of an Each-Way bet, where half the total stake is bet on the horse to win and other half is on a place. There is one famous national bookmaker who does permit place bets and that is the Tote.
The Tote, or Horseracing Totalisator Board, offers a whole different way of betting which is particularly favoured by those unsure of fixed odds betting. The Tote system works on a pools basis and the Tote is the only company in the country permitted to offer pool, or parimutuel, betting on horseracing. Tote has outlets in every racecourse in Britain and as with all pools systems, for a relatively small initial outlay there is a chance to win big and returns are determined by the number of players in the pool. Certain pools incorporate bettors from all the racecourses in the country and so numbers involved can be very significant indeed.
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Tote betting works by making selections on a race and should that selection win then all moneys collected for that particular selection are pooled and all winners get an equal share for every £1 staked. The minimum stake for Tote betting of this kind is £2. Rather than fixed odds given as an idea of probability before the race, in Tote betting, a price quote is given based on the current dividend payout.
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Just like there are multiple and combined betting options for fixed odds, there are similar options for Tote betting and Placepot is one of them. All race meetings in the UK feature at least 6 races and a Placepot incorporates the first 6 races of the day. It is one of the most popular Tote bets since it has the potential to get bettors involved in the whole racecard for the day for just a single multiple bet prior to the first race.
The principle is very simple. The bettor makes their selections for each race and the minimum bet for each selection is just 10p. They can have multiple selections in a single race if they choose. For an example lets say the bettor chooses 2 selections in the first, third and fifth races and a single selection in races 2, 4, and 6. If they choose to stake 50p for each selection then 2 x 1 x 2 x 1 x 2 x 1= 8 possible combinations and so the cost of the bet is 8 x 50p = £4.
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Selections must win or be placed in the race to continue the bet and so if your selections in the first race are not placed then the bet is finished and you get nothing back, whatever happens in the following races. If your selections in a race win or are placed then the winnings you get are automatically placed on your selections for the next race. Commonly, bettors will make multiple selections for the first and last races to increase the chances of continued involvement after the first race and to reduce your chances of losing out on a big payout if you are still in contention in the last race. |
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