Guide to Tote Betting - Everything You'll Ever Need to Know... -

If you are a horse racing fan then it is likely you have heard of Tote betting. It is a type of betting that differs from the way traditional bookmakers handle bets.

Tote betting has been called the lottery of horse racing for good reason, small stakes can equal big profits!

In today’s article, we are going to cover everything you need to know about Tote betting (and more).

We will cover:

How Tote Betting Works
Win and Place Bets In Tote betting
What is a Tote Placepot?
What is a Tote Trifecta Bet?
Tote Quadpot Betting

Tote Betting For Beginners Explained Simply…

When you bet into a Tote, you are betting into a pool. The pool is created by the amount of money that has been staked on each horse in the race. At the end of the race those that have backed the winning horse receive a share from that pool of money. Their winnings will relate to the size of their bet and the total amount of money staked on the winning horse.

This style of betting differs from that of traditional bookmakers as you don’t know the exact odds of the horse when you place your bet. The odds are dependent on the amount of people that have backed it, this can be useful for horse racing bettors that see a horse that is unfancied by the market and unlikely to take much money.

When betting with the Tote although you will not see exact odds, you are able to see an estimation of what your winnings could be based on the current pool of money for that race.

Win and Place Bets In Tote Betting Broken Down:

Most horse racing bettors will be familiar with each-way bets. These are bets that cover both the win market and also the place market. When it comes to betting on the Tote market. These bets must be placed on different Tote’s, the Tote win bet and the Tote place bet.

The following rules apply when betting on the place Tote:

5 – 7 runner race = 1st & 2nd will be paid out as a place.
8 – 15 runner race = 1st, 2nd & 3rd will be paid out.
Non-handicap race of 16 or more runners = 1st, 2nd & 3rd places paid out
Handicap of 16 or more runners in a race = 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th places are paid.

The total pool on a place Tote is divided by the number of places payable on the race. This is paid out in equal proportion. With the payout being adjusted for the amount staked on each horse alongside the number of backers (fewer backers on a horse higher payout, more backers lower payout.)

How much does the Tote pay back in total?

According to Tote.co.uk which runs the UK and Irish betting Tote, around 80% of the total pool is distributed among winning bettors. This amount can differ depending on the Tote.

What is a Tote Placepot?

The Tote placepot is a bet where you must select a horse to place in the first six races of any UK, Irish or some of the bigger international meetings. This is a common bet for enthusiastic horse racing fans as similar to accumulator bets, there is the potential to make large amounts of profit from a very small stake.

To win the Tote placepot you must have six horses of your choosing placing in every race that is run. The payout for a Tote placepot is managed in the same way as other methods of Tote betting. The total pool of money formed by bettors is divided amongst the winners, with payout depending on how much money each winning horse has taken.

There’s a smart pool betting strategy that various pro’s have used to consistently win over the years but that’s for another article.

How Much Can You Make Betting the Tote Placepot?

The payout for each Tote bet is always going to differ due to the variables involved.

Tote’s margin (their take) for managing the pool
Total amount of money staked in the pool
How much was bet/ how many people bet on the winning selections

An average figure of £407 was quoted by the Racing Post as payout for Tote placepot winners. If however you included several unfancied horses and hit a winning bet, six-figure profits have been made.

Let’s take a look at some other Tote bets you can make!

Tote Trifecta Bets

Trifecta bets as the name indicates is bet that includes three horses (tri). The premise of a Tote trifecta bet is to back the horses that finish first, second and third.

Let’s take a look at a couple of ways in which you can approach a trifecta bet.

Straight Trifecta – Simply pick three horses in order of 1st,2nd and 3rd.
Combination Trifecta – This involves six possible permutations of the three chosen horses. It is a bet which is used in order to cover all three horses placing in the top 3. Covering all possible finishing orders (among the top 3 places.) Basically this means you are having multiple bets on the Tote rather then one.
Banker Trifecta – Choose one horse to finish first and cover all other outcomes for 2nd and 3rd place. Again this means having multiple bets on the Tote.

Tote Quadpot Bet

Moving on we have the quadpot tote.

The quadpot was invented to give those horse racing bettors that were out of the placepot in the initial two races, another crack at landing a big winner. This bet pays out exactly like the previous however the difference is it involves place betting selections.

In order to win the bet, all four selections must place and they must all be on races three, four, five and six.

Advantages and Disadvantages Of Tote Betting

There are advantages and disadvantages to Tote betting that both professional gamblers and recreational bettors should consider?

Let’s start with the disadvantages:

Large margin taken by the Tote
Unlikely to be profitable backing favourites
Exact odds are unknown when placing a bet
Low % chance of winning a Tote bet

Some of the advantages:

Unfancied horses can be more profitable to back on the Tote compared to bookmakers
Can win a large amount for low stakes
For recreational bettors it can make a days racing exciting

The Tote is often seen as the lottery of horse racing with many recreational bettors enjoying a bet. Whilst some savvy sports bettors may be able to gain an edge backing horses that the majority of the public are not. For the majority betting on the Tote is likely to be a fun activity without the expectation of profiting in the long term.