Sandringham proves biggest betting heat as Superpools hailed success

The introduction of new Tote Superpools at Royal Ascot was hailed as a success by those behind it, with liquidity for the pools increasing almost 50 per cent compared to last year despite the meeting being held behind closed doors.

In the absence of on-course betting this year, the Superpools were introduced to enhance liquidity, with punters from jurisdictions around the world including Hong Kong, Australia and the US betting into the pools.

Wagering with the Tote for Royal Ascot, which was extended to 36 races this year, grew to £137 million, compared to £92.2m in 2019. That represents a 49 per cent increase, with the biggest pool coming in the Sandringham Stakes on Thursday. A total of £5.3m was staked on that mile handicap, with 18 pools at the meeting exceeding £1m.

The Tote win price also surpassed industry SP on 19 occasions, with Duke of Edinburgh Stakes winner Scarlet Dragon offering the biggest discrepancy. The Alan King-trained winner paid £51.40 on the Tote compared to an industry SP of 33-1.

Alex Frost, chief executive of the UK Tote Group, said: "We have all enjoyed the most incredible week of racing at Royal Ascot. We are very grateful to every member of the Ascot team for all of their hard work in making this possible and are delighted to be able to work alongside them to showcase the royal meeting to a UK and international racing audience through the Tote.

"In only its second year, World Pool, operating under the banner of "Tote Superpools" in the UK, has proved very popular with racing fans. We have seen a record increase in volumes and exceptional value offered throughout the week.

"We look forward to World Pool returning to Ascot for Champions Day in October and continuing to progress international cooperation to strengthen and grow pool betting on British racing."

However, punters playing the Placepot had to deal with the bet paying no more than three places in every race in order to align with international operators betting into the pool.

This may have had a knock-on effect for Placepot pools, with liquidity reported to be down for the bet during the meeting.

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