Ascot Racecourse and Tote Renew Partnership for Five Years
Ascot Racecourse and the Tote have renewed their partnership with a five-year agreement starting January 1, 2024, to enhance and expand pool betting in the UK. This agreement reaffirms that all pool bets placed on races at Ascot Racecourse will continue to contribute to the UK pool’s liquidity, which has been operated by the UK Tote Group since October 2019. This includes bets made on-course under the “Bet with Ascot” brand, remotely via tote.co.uk, and through various bookmakers and third-party partners.
Over the past four years, Ascot Racecourse and the Tote have developed a successful partnership, with pool betting on Ascot races showing consistent year-on-year growth. Both parties are committed to further accelerating this growth under the new agreement, buoyed by the quality and appeal of Ascot’s racing events and innovative developments in UK pool betting. Since 2020, there has been a significant increase in remote B2C turnover from British and Irish customers betting on tote.co.uk/.ie on Ascot races, with international turnover also seeing a substantial rise, partly due to the World Pool initiative.
Ascot Racecourse has played a key role in the World Pool since its inception at Royal Ascot in June 2019. The Royal Meeting set a successful precedent for the World Pool model, where Tote operators from 28 countries combine their pools, hosted by the Hong Kong Jockey Club, to significantly boost liquidity and enhance the betting experience. With World Pool days in British and Irish races increasing to 17 days in 2023, the sport has benefited from higher media rights payments and richer, more stable pools. Notably, Tote Win bets on every winner on British and Irish World Pool days in 2023 paid significantly more than the industry Starting Price.
Looking ahead to 2024, Ascot Racecourse, alongside other British racecourses and the Tote, will collaborate closely with the Hong Kong Jockey Club to further the growth of World Pool. This effort will focus on ensuring competitive race fields on World Pool days to attract betting interest, while the Tote continues to enhance the value and experience of pool betting for racing fans.
Alastair Warwick, Chief Executive of Ascot Racecourse, said: “We are delighted have a new agreement in place with the Tote which will allow us to build on what has been achieved domestically and internationally over the last four years. As one of the original architects of World Pool, alongside the Hong Kong Jockey Club and the Tote, we are excited to support the further development of World Pool to ensure both racing fans and the sport benefit from it. We were thrilled to see that Royal Ascot produced five of the top six World Pool days by total turnover in 2023 and also that QIPCO King George Day performed so well after some targeted race planning changes. We will ensure that Ascot’s top-class racing continues to be at the forefront of British racing’s efforts to see that the sport is watched and bet on by a growing domestic and global audience.”
Alex Frost, Chief Executive of the UK Tote Group, said: “The Tote is immensely proud to be a partner of Ascot Racecourse which hosts some of the most prestigious racedays in the sporting calendar. This new agreement ensures Ascot Racecourse and the Tote are perfectly positioned to work together to achieve a strong UK Pool, alongside the continued development of World Pool, which are crucial elements to the future financial sustainability of the sport. I would personally like to thank Alastair and his excellent team at Ascot Racecourse for their ongoing support, and everyone at the Tote looks forward to continuing our partnership with Ascot over the next five years.”
