Placepot Betting Guide : Horse Racing Guide

What Is A Placepot Bet?

The Placepot bet is an exciting bet to place for fans of horse racing. Simply put, all bettors have to do to win is choose a horse or horses to place in races 1-6 on a race card. The bet is placed prior to the first race and is a popular bet choice as you don’t even need to pick a winner to be successful. You can also choose more than one horse to place in a race which will give you a higher chance of winning but will increase the cost of your bet.

The number of places in a race depends on how many runners there are and this can affect your bet. This is how many places are paid out due to the amount of runners:

Number of Runners	Bet Places
Up to 4 runners	1st
5 to 7 runners	1st and 2nd
8+ runners in non handicaps	1st, 2nd and 3rd
8-15 runners in handicaps	1st, 2nd and 3rd
16+ runners in handicaps	1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th

As you can see, the smaller the race the harder it is to choose a winning horse to place. This is where it may be advised to choose more than one horse for the smaller races to provide you with a bigger chance of winning even though it increases your bet cost.

What Happens If You Choose A Non-Runner?

As you have to choose a minimum of six horses in six different races, there is a potential to pick a non-runner. If there is a non-runner, your stake will instead be placed on the Starting Price favourite. If there are joint favourites, your stake will be placed on the favourite with the lowest saddlecloth number.

How Is A Placepot Bet Calculated?

The calculation of your Placepot depends on how many horses you choose in each of the six races and how much your stake is. To calculate the overall cost of your Placepot bet, you simply have to multiply the number of selections from each race which are known by lines by your stake.

For example, if you bet on 1 horse each race and bet €2, the total cost will be €2.

However if you bet on 2 horses each race, it is advised to place a lower stake as the selections are multiplied. For example if you bet €2 for 2 horses in each race, the total cost is €128 which is very high compared to a €0.50c stake which will only cost €32.

There are a number of different iterations that you can create for a Placepot bet as you may want to select 2 horses in a race with only 7 runners making it harder to place and 1 horse for the rest of the 5 races. This would mean that your selections are 2x1x1x1x1x1 and if you place a €1 bet, the total cost is €2 and so on.

The Best Way to Win More

As the Placepot is split between the winners after six races, there is a wide range of funds on offer. If you bet on all the favourites to win, then you will receive a small amount as they are almost always the most popular selection chosen. It is highly advised to instead choose the lesser favourites which will provide you with a bigger share from the winnings.

In this case, a popular strategy is to choose horses that regularly place but don’t win which means they aren’t the favourite but are still consistent enough to potentially place for you. The final Placepot dividend is calculated to a £1 stake. The Tote takes 27% of the pot to cover certain fees meaning the rest of the 73% is shared between the winners. This is how it would be worked out:

For example, if there is a final amount of €150,00 in the Placepot and there was 1080 winning tickets by the end of the six races, the dividend is:

€150,000 x 0.73 (73%) = €109,500 (the overall payout)

€109,500 ÷ 1095 (number of winning tickets) = €100

This means that the Placepot would pay out €100 for every €1 stake. The minimum stake for a Placepot is only 5c which means that bettors who placed a 5c line will receive €5 whereas if you staked €10, you would receive €1000 and so on.

The Pros and Cons of a Placepot Bet

A Placepot bet is a popular choice for many bettors as you can provide a relatively low stake for potentially big rewards.

Pros

• Potential for big returns

The Placepot bet is popular because you can win a big amount depending on the total amount in the pool. The winnings are shared out with all the winners and your return depends on how many lines you win.

• Multiple horses can be picked

You are able to pick more than one horse in each race which will give you a higher chance of winning. This is ideal for races with only 4 or 6 runners as there aren’t as many places available compared to an 8+ runner race.

• One bet covers six different races

For people with a vested interest in horse racing, the Placepot bet gives you the opportunity to cover six different races with just one bet at a relatively cheaper price.

• Small stakes are ideal

Placing a small stake on multiple bets is an ideal way to achieve bigger potential returns. If you lose, your loss is also smaller than on a traditional bet if you place a minimum of 10c on multiple lines.

Cons

• No fixed odds

The difference between a normal bet and a Placepot is that there are no fixed odds and the winnings depend on how much is in the pot, the amount of winning tickets and how much you wagered.

• Chances of winning all six are low

It can be difficult to choose only 1 horse to place in each of the six races meaning there is a low chance of winning. To combat this, you may have to add more selections on certain races which will increase your total bet cost but therefore increase your chances of winning.

• Cost can increase rapidly with multiple selections

You can choose multiple selections for each race to boost your chances of winning but this will also increase your cost quite significantly. The best option in this case is to choose 2 or 3 horses in a race which only offers 1 or 2 places and only 1 horse for the races which offer up to 4 places.

In conclusion, the Placepot bet is a hugely popular option available at Tote and on many betting sites in Ireland and the UK. If you are unlucky and do not get any winners in the first 2 races, you can opt to be put into the Tote quadpot which includes races 3, 4, 5 and 6. This offers less risk but a smaller prize fund.