Ireland becomes fourth country to host World Pool on Saturday

Ireland becomes the fourth country in the world to host a World Pool betting event on Saturday when an eight-figure sum is set to be invested into Tote Pools, available to Irish and British punters, on Irish Champion Stakes Day at Leopardstown.

Through collaboration between the Hong Kong Jockey Club, Tote, Horse Racing Ireland, and Racecourse Media Group, racing fans from around the world will have the opportunity to bet into a single pool.

Created and hosted by the Hong Kong Jockey Club since 2018, over 20 leading racing nations, including Ireland, the UK, Hong Kong, Australia, Singapore, South Africa, and the US have been part of World Pool to date.

In total, over €372 million (£320m) has so far been bet into World Pool on 15 British race days in 2021 at the QIPCO 2000 Guineas Day, Cazoo Derby Day, Royal Ascot, Coral-Eclipse Day, QIPCO King George Diamond Day, the Qatar Goodwood Festival, and Welcome to Yorkshire Ebor Festival.

Brian Kavanagh, Chief Executive of Horse Racing Ireland, which owns Tote Ireland, said: “We are delighted that the Hong Kong Jockey Club have made Irish Champion Stakes Day at Leopardstown a World Pool event for the first time. This is both great news for Irish Tote bettors and for Leopardstown, underlining the benefits of Tote operators around the world coming together to provide bigger pools and better value."

Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, Chief Executive Officer of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, said: “I am pleased to see Ireland become the fourth racing jurisdiction to participate in World Pool following the UK, Dubai and South Africa. The World Pool provides customers from around the globe the opportunity to tap into the global pool with unmatched liquidity and is a significant source of additional income for our content partners during these challenging times."

The additional money being bet into the pool has produced some notable boosts to liquidity and dividends already this year - for example in last month's Coolmore Nunthorpe Stakes, which saw nearly £4million bet into the pool, with winner Winter Power paying at more than 13/1, compared to a 9/1 starting price.