What is a Placepot bet?

The Placepot, or Tote Placepot, is a popular type of pool bet, the aim of which is to correctly predict a horse to be placed in each of the first six races at any meeting in Britain or Ireland. As with other types of Tote bet, the winning dividend is calculated by the dividing total stakes in the Placepot pool, subject to a 27% deduction, by the number of winning tickets. The winning dividend is declared to a £1 stake, but winnings are calculated pro rata, based on the amount staked on each permutation, or ‘line’, which can be as little as £0.10, or even £0.05, in some cases, sibject to a minimum total stake of £1.

As the name suggests, the Placepot is operated by the Tote, owned since 2019 by the UK Tote Group, but bets can be placed with many online bookmakers, who pass stakes back to the Tote pool. Obviously, the number of places offered depends on the number of runners in a race; in races with four or fewer runners only the winner counts for Placepot purposes, in races with between five and seven runners the first two count, in races with eight or more runners the first three count and in handicap races with sixteen or more runners the first four count. Picking more than one selection in one or more legs of the Placepot increases your chances of a return, but also the number of permutations and, hence, your total stake.