Cold water poured on prospects of a global super bet

Prospects for the imminent introduction of a regular global super bet have been dismissed as "a myth" by Alastair Warwick, chief operating officer at Ascot, where a World Pool was successfully pioneered in conjunction with the Hong Kong Jockey Club at this year's royal meeting.

Speaking at the RBForum in Paris and asked by moderator Jason Brautigam whether a worldwide super bet was "realistic or still mythical", Warwick said: "It's a myth. Getting 13 countries together for the World Pool was difficult; the reality of getting all those countries together for a single bet on a regular basis is a long way away. Let's concentrate on what customers, especially younger customers, want and keep it simple."

Warwick, who attended the forum with Ascot commercial director Juliet Slot, also counselled patience over the World Pool project, for which Hong Kong's involvement fuelled an increase in all tote pools at the royal meeting from £17 million in 2018 to £92m.