Irish racing will participate in World Pool for the first time for Longines Irish Champion Stakes Day at Leopardstown on Saturday 11th September.
This first Irish World Pool event is in addition to 16 World Pool on British racedays in 2021, up from five in 2020.
Brian Kavanagh, Chief Executive of Horse Racing Ireland which owns Tote Ireland, said: “Irish Champion Stakes Day at Leopardstown – day one of the Longines Irish Champions Weekend – is a showcase day in Irish racing, and Horse Racing Ireland welcomes its inclusion in World Pool. The addition of Irish Champion Stakes Day is a first for Irish racing and is both great news for Irish Tote bettors and for Leopardstown, underlining the benefits of Tote operators around the world coming together to providing bigger pools and better value.”
Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, Chief Executive Officer of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, said: “As we commence our first summer of simulcast and World Pool events at the Hong Kong Jockey Club, it’s very exciting to announce that the Irish Champion Stakes Day at Leopardstown in September has also been added to the schedule. This will mark the first World Pool meeting in Ireland and the continued expansion of the World Pool brand into a fourth racing jurisdiction following the UK, Dubai and South Africa. World Pool not only provides significant financial benefits to the international racing community, but it is aligned to the finest global racing events which are showcased in Hong Kong and around the World. It is the hope and expectation that this will continue to grow in the years ahead.”
Nick Mills, Chief Commercial Officer of Racecourse Media Group, which manages the pool betting interests of Irish racecourses, said: “Working with our partners at SIS, we are delighted to have played our part in ensuring Irish racing is on the World Pool calendar. We look forward to working closely with Leopardstown and HRI in making Longines Irish Champions Day a resounding success.”
World Pool ensures there are larger and deeper pools, smoothing pricing and driving an increase in value for customers, as racing fans from around the world bet into a single pool.
The strategic partnership between Tote Ireland and the UK Tote Group, announced in April 2020, has seen the introduction of a single online betting platform for the Tote in both countries, and with it a number of customers innovations.
These innovations include Tote Guarantee and Tote+ (Tote Plus). Tote+ provides customers of tote.ie in Ireland and tote.co.uk, with a 10% dividend enhancement, while Tote Guarantee ensures the Tote will always match the industry Starting Price (SP) on all Win bets, or exceed it if the pool price is bigger.
World Pool, combined with Tote Guarantee and Tote+ has led to exceptional value for customers. For example, Royal Ascot 2021 saw a total pool size of over £129 million with the Tote+ Win price beating the Industry SP on 21 occasions and match on 14 occasions across the 35 races. This resulted in a 11% higher return, compared to SP, for Tote+ bets placed on tote.ie and tote.co.uk based on placing a £1 bet on each winner during the week.