What is the Placepot Bet – a Comprehensive Placepot Betting Guide

Jamie Clark

Equine expert

Updated: 9 August 2023

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A Placepot bet is a Tote betting wager where you must pick and have a horse finished placed in each of the first six races at a particular meeting. It works like a fixed odds accumulator, but payouts are made from the returned dividends of Pari-mutuel betting pool. In this detailed guide, we explain what is a Placepot bet for horse racing, how it works and ways punters can get the most effective use out of such wagers.

That and many other questions is what we are going through in this article. Although Placepot betting is somewhat niche, there are still bookies where you can do it online. So join us and discover all about Placepot pools and placepot rules in this complete guide.

What is a Placepot Bet in Horse Racing? – The Placepot Bet Explained

A Placepot bet is a type of pari-mutuel or pool betting wager specific to horse racing. Originally a Tote pools Placepot bet, it is the equivalent of making a sixfold accumulator using regular fixed odds in the place betting. You don’t have to put a Placepot bet on directly through the Tote, though, and can use one of the top betting sites listed above.

The Totepool Placepot involves picking horses that finish in a place during the first six races of a single meeting in the UK (or Ireland). On occasion, a Tote Placepot even covers a major international event in the sport, such as Dubai World Cup Night at Meydan in the Middle East or the Breeders’ Cup in the USA. We will have more on when Placepot betting proves most popular later on. Now, let’s move on to how to do a Placepot bet with a step by step guide.

How Does a Placepot Bet Work?

This is how to place a Placepot bet online. You could always do one in person on course if you’re having a day out at the races, but here we’re looking at how to do it digitally. First of all, you need to make sure that Placepot pool betting is available on the sportsbook you wager with. If you use one of the best betting sites in the UK that we identified above that actually has a live Placepot wagering presence, then that is a good start!

We are using QuinnBet in our example. Select the race meeting that you want to put your Placepot bet on at, and start by adding the first leg of the wager like this:

Continue to add legs to your wager. If there is a particularly competitive race, then you may wish to include more than one selection on your slip. This will increase your unit stake on Placepot betting but also covers more permutations and potential outcomes:

Once you have added a selection or selections for all six races that feature, then you enter your stake. Some bookies will let you go as low as £0.10 or £0.05 per line. Part of the appeal of Placepot betting is that you win big off relatively small stakes.

What Makes a Bookie Good for Placepot Betting

Now that you understand how to do a Placepot bet online, it is time that we told you how we sort the wheat from the chaff. Here at SafeBettingSites, we have industry experts who know all the bets and where it best to place them. These are our tips when if we would look for a suitable bookmaker. First and foremost, not all horse racing betting sites have Placepot betting available. Amongst those that do, here are the criteria to look for:

Top 5 Criteria to Look For:

Placepot Rules

You understand what is a Placepot bet and how to place a Placepot bet but what about the rules? This is not a regular fixed odds wager but a form of pool betting pioneered by the Tote. Deductions can and do still apply in the event of horses being withdrawn and becoming non-runners. Getting a grip on the Placepot rules helps you understand key difference between this bet and an ordinary punt with the bookies.

Terms, like those for an each way bet, are largely the same when you put on Placepots. If there are four or fewer runners, then wager pays out on win only. Should five, six or seven horses contest the race, then second places pays through Placepot betting. With between eight and 15 runners in handicaps, and eight or more in conditions races, you need your horse to be in the first three. In big field handicap races of 16 or more runners, then your wager wins if your pick is first, second, third or fourth.

The fixed odds market has no direct relation or influence on Placepot betting. It is all about how much interest there is in horses from the pool of people gambling. This leads to situations where favourites have a returned Placepot dividend that may often be shorter than the fixed odds SP. However, the other side to that is outsiders running into a place may have larger returned dividends than in the regular bookmaker betting. That can be to your advantage with Placepots if you’re taking on the market leaders.

If a horse you pick turns out to be a non-runner, then there is no voiding the bet. Placepot running pools don’t pay out on five results either. The way that all forms of pool betting multiples work is that you are automatically transferred to the SP favourite. In the event that there are joint or co favourites for a race, you replacement selection is the first horse in numerical on the racecard.

Meetings Where the Placepot Pool is Largest

Placepot totals are going to be pretty small on an average day’s horse racing meeting. Betting interest in lower levels and classes of competition reflect that. People want to bet on horses they have heard of and that show some ability. The table below lists key meetings on the Flat and over jumps where Placepot running totals should be at their largest:

Placepot Results

You may want to check Placepot results to see how you did. As noted above, all the sites where you can get a Placepot bet on will have today’s Placepot results available for free. A  lot of the top bookies in the UK supply the results without having to log in, and those who do does not require any deposit so you can create an account to use for checking result on a bookie that  you like.

Placepot Betting – The Benefits and Drawbacks

There are lots of reasons why you should put Placepots on, and those advantages only increase when doing so digitally. As with any wager, even doing a Placepot bet online has its downsides too. At SafeBettingSites, we want to be completely honest with you about all things related to gambling. It is just part of having a Placepot bet explained to you that you understand the upsides and disadvantages:

Top 4 Ultimate Placepot Tips

Now that you have seen the Placepot bet from both sides, it is time for some strategy advice from our experts. We asked them for their best Placepot tips so that you stand a better chance of pulling the wager off. As with a regular accumulator using fixed betting odds, this is still a challenge to win. Just follow these strategies and that should help:

Study and Know the Form

Whether you are placing a Placepot live on course or doing so online, there is no getting away from form. If you equip yourself with as much knowledge as possible about the horses running, then that should give you a better chance of making an informed decision. Pay particular attention to course winners. Horses with a find record of winning or at least running into the frame at a particular venue warrant serious consideration for a Placepot bet as you know they act at the track.

Bet on Multiple Lines in Competitive Races

Not every race involved in Placepots is going to be easy. Some events will be very competitive where you can make a case for three or more horses winning. There is nothing to stop you when doing a Tote Placepot live in person at the track or online from including multiple lines on your betslip to reflect that. Just be aware that doing so multiples your unit stake as a result, but having more bases covered is a definite plus.

Use Fixed Odds Betting as a Guide

Just because you are wagering through the Tote Placepot live pools betting, it doesn’t mean that you should ignore the regular fixed odds betting market with bookmakers. This acts as a guide to market interest. You can follow market movers through exchange betting platforms too. It is well worth checking how a horse’s odds have changed overnight or from when the early prices became available.

Identify and Take on Vulnerable Favourites

Not every favourite in horse racing is a good thing. Far from it in fact. Favourites are beaten on average around two-thirds of the time, so you need to identify ones that look vulnerable. If you can make any sort of case against the market leader and find better value for your Placepots, then that works to your advantage.

More On Horse Racing

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On Where to Put a Placepot Bet

You may still have many more questions, which is fine – no one is a master in one fell swoop, or one guide read. As a start, familiarize yourself with what bookmakers are available in the UK and what they offer – read up in general on how tote betting works in general. If you go to the first page of Safebettingsites.com you can find many useful links and reviews that will be a good start at finding the best betting sites and their offering.

The Last Word on the Placepot Bet Online

So, you understand what’s a Placepot bet now and more importantly how does a Placepot bet work in practice. Like all sports betting, Placepots are meant to be a bit of fun. The degree of difficult involved with them is reflected in the big returns you could get from small stakes. A live Placepot going down to the sixth and final race feels pretty exciting, but just remember to do them sensibly and within your means.

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Jamie Clark

Equine expert

Horse racing expert Jamie Clark joined the SafeBettingSites team in 2021 after a decade working in related industries. Hailing from a strong gambling background, he is now the master behind our Academy, breaking down and explaining betting jargon and key terms. Jamie can aid you in better understanding what they all mean. He uses his vast knowledge of horse racing and other popular betting sports to pull the curtain back on popular wagers by providing advice and strategy on how to make these work best for punters. After honing his skills as the sports editor of major betting brand Coral, Jamie forged a successful freelance career working with bookmakers to provide informative content just like that in the Betting Academy.

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