Latest news with #WorldPool
The Citizen
20 hours ago
- Sport
- The Citizen
R10m Pick 6 ends season with a bang
It's also a World Pool day at Greyville. A Pick 6 with a likely pool of R10-million tops the betting menu at Sunday's Gold Cup race meeting at Greyville. It is a last chance to play for outsize payouts for a while as the fixture is a climactic send-off of the 2025 season. It's not just the Pick 6 that will draw in punters. The Quartet on the World Pool Gold Cup itself – South Africa's most important marathon race – is predicted to top R2-million, thanks to TAB bunging in a R500,000 carryover. As the big-race sponsor indicates, the meeting is a Hong Kong World Pool event. This means all TAB betting (accessible through Betway) on the card will be comingled into gigantic pools hosted by the Hong Kong Jockey Club and open to punters in racing centres around the world. The World Pool bets are Win, Place, Exacta, Quinella and Swinger. These bets must be in multiples of R2 – for example, R8, R10, R12 and so on. In addition to the Gold Cup, Race 7 on the card, four Grade 1 contests and five other feature events make up the 10-race bill of fare. The R1.5-million HKJC Champions Cup over 1800m is the headline grabber as it sees Durban July champion The Real Prince taking on Equus Horse of the Year Dave The King, who won the race last year. These two charismatic stars were level-pegging at 1.36 for the Win on Wednesday afternoon. The Mercury Sprint sees some of the country's best speedsters vying for a R1-million purse. The ante-post favourite here is Tenango at 1.40, with Mia Moo, I Am Giant and Buffalo Storm Cody jointly on offer at 2.00. The Douglas Whyte Thekwini Stakes (Race 4) honours the famous Durbanite who ruled the Hong Kong jockey championship for more than a decade and who now runs a successful training yard in the racing-mad enclave. Interestingly, the hot-pot favourite here is an uncommon raider from the Eastern Cape, Alan Greef-trained Golden Palm (1.05) to be ridden by champion jockey Richard Fourie. The filly goes for a fourth win in a row, within five months, and offers a potential banker for punters to kick off their assault on the R10-million Pick 6.
The Citizen
02-07-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
A special Place in the heart of punters
You can take Place bets with a local bookmaker, such as Betway, who does pay out on the first four horses past the post in the July. Greyville is ready to host the the 2025 Durban July. Picture: Nigel Sibanda / The Citizen The humble Place bet has suddenly become a hot topic of conversation ahead of Saturday's Durban July. When official Tote betting opened on Monday for South Africa's premier race meeting, it was revealed that TAB would only be paying out on THREE places in the July itself (i.e. Race 7 on the card). The norm is three place payouts in races of less than 16 runners and four payouts in those with 16 or more. The Durban July traditionally has 18 runners. A few years ago, TAB showed uncommon generosity to millions of 'one-a-year flutter' punters by agreeing to pay out on the first six placings in the July. This was later reduced to five. World Pool system Now it's just three and 'smaller' punters who rely heavily on Place dividends to sustain their racing passion will feel hard done by. The reason for the cut is the July's inclusion in the World Pool system. This is prestigious as it aligns South African racing with some of the biggest race days around the world – such as Royal Ascot, the Melbourne Cup and the US's Breeders' Cup. Foreign jurisdictions only recognise three places, so local bettors wagering into enormous global comingled pools must fall into line. Betway answers the call However, all is not lost. You can take Place bets with a local bookmaker, such as Betway, who does pay out on the first four horses past the post in the July. The Place bet is an unsung and under-appreciated element of the game. It is the universal 'backstop' or 'insurance' for other types of wager – as epitomised in the popular Eachway bet. If one's main fancy doesn't quite win, there's often the consolation of a Place payout. And Place payouts, in general, on a major race day like the July are often more substantial than at run-of-the-mill meetings – thanks to swollen pools due to the large volume of bets laid, many by novice punters who aren't necessarily going for well-backed horses. Operator Race Coast anticipates Win and Place pools on the July will each top R10-million – astronomical for a South African race. Betway's fixed odds on a top-four July finish illustrate the inflated dividend phenomenon well, with the country's top horses offering superb value: Eight On Eighteen – R1.22 Oriental Charm – R2.00 Immediate Edge – R2.10 The Real Prince – R3.00 Selukwe – R3.25 Gladatorian – R3.25 On My Honour – R3.50 Madison Valley – R5.00 Royal Victory – R5.00 Atticus Finch – R5.25 • See It Again, who finished second and fifth in the last two Durban Julys, has been scratched from Saturday's big race. Trainer Michael Roberts reported that the five-year-old gelding had an abnormal blood count. See It Again has been replaced in the line-up by Sean Tarry-trained Litigation, who is 36-1 in the betting.
Straits Times
20-06-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Horseracing-Automatic betting terminals leave Ascot bookies all a flutter
Horse Racing - Royal Ascot 2025 - Ascot Racecourse, Ascot, Britain - June 19, 2025 Third placed Catalina Delcarpio ridden by William James Lee in action with second placed Understudy ridden by Robert Havlin during the 15:40 Ribblesdale Stakes Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge REUTERS ASCOT, England - Punters at Royal Ascot this week have, for the first time, been able to place bets using self-service electronic terminals as the course looks to modernise the age-old system of rows of in-person bookmakers displaying their odds to eagle-eyed racegoers. The machines, which resemble the ordering system seen in many fast-food restaurants, take punts of up to 100 pounds ($134.96) and offer a smaller range of bets than traditional bookmakers and larger pool-systems like The Tote. The gambling industry is the most substantial revenue stream for British racecourses and funds prize money, horse welfare and racecourse costs with over 13 billion pounds bet annually on horseracing in Britain. For many racegoers, handing over a crisp tenner to a brusque bookmaker is a core part of the experience, but Ascot says its technology makes betting more accessible to a wider range of people. Early responses suggest the terminals make it easier for people who know their selections and can make decisions in their own time, said Chris Collard, director of Ascot Racecourse Betting & Gaming. On the first two days of the Royal Meeting, some 60 million pounds of bets were placed via the World Pool, an international pool system into which Ascot's new machines feed. For the track's over 200 on-course bookmakers, the self-service machines with their low maximum bet are a curiosity, though they are staying alert should they feel them becoming a threat to their business. Alan Stadler, of A&A Racing, who the Racing Post reports paid 160,000 pounds for his pitch at Ascot in 2018, cautioned that remote gambling via machines could make it harder to assess those who can't afford to make the bet. "In the Royal Enclosure, you can take 5,000 pounds back from people who can readily afford it, but maybe in the Heath Enclosure, you possibly can't," he said. "So there are lots of issues going to come up with remote gambling via machines." For now Ascot has no plans to expand the rollout and says limiting the bet to 100 pounds is for the protection of customers. "Our customer base is largely recreational and our average bet size is much lower, around 10-20 pounds," he said, adding that only a fraction of total bets would come via this service. BIGGER THREATS Barry Pinnington, a bookmaker who has been in the business for 30 years, said any offering that takes business away from the track-side is a concern. But the incursion of pool kiosks, online betting and exchanges is more of a worry than the new terminals themselves. "The bottom line is that they take money away from us the closer they are to the betting rings, where the traditional bookmakers long have stood and taken the money," he told Reuters. While Pinnington traded around 60,000 pounds on Ascot's opening day, Stadler said he took a quarter fewer bets compared to the opening day last year. This still amounted to 55,000 pounds. "Online is having a bigger and bigger effect," Stadler said. "People are betting on their phones more and more. We like to think as bookmakers we're part of the day's attraction." All bets placed through Ascot's new system will feed into a global betting pool known as the World Pool, which mingles money bet at tote operators in 25 different jurisdictions from Hong Kong, through South Africa and the United States. The World Pool turned over some $8.15 billion in 2024. Trackside bookies recognise the World Pool brings important revenue for British racecourses but caution that wider adoption, and betting via mobile phones risks losing the human face. "I've seen racecourses around the world which have gone to a tote mechanism, and they're just like graveyards and there's no appeal," said Stadler. "There has to be a balance and I'm not sure the balance is there at the moment." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Scottish Sun
19-06-2025
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
World Pool ambassador Ryan Moore talks through his big rides on day three of Royal Ascot
MOORE MOORE MOORE World Pool ambassador Ryan Moore talks through his big rides on day three of Royal Ascot LOGICALLY speaking, this racing game is a biological sport — it's all down to breeding. And CHARLES DARWIN (2.30) is bred to be one of the elite. He's a son of brilliant sprinter No Nay Never and a brother to Blackbeard, who was fourth in the Coventry as a two-year-old and won the Group 1 Middle Park at three. 1 Ryan Moore talks through his rides on day three at Ascot Credit: Shutterstock Editorial Charles Darwin has three runs under his belt, which is a big help coming to a stage like Royal Ascot. He won his last two starts pretty comfortably and sets the standard for this five-furlong dash. I had the choice of SERIOUS CONTENDER (3.05), Propose and Light As Air in the King Charles Stakes. They are all nice sorts but I decided on Serious Contender who has been put away since winning at Leopardstown on his reappearance this season. He's in good shape. Light Of Air was probably unlucky not to beat Serious Contender the last time at Leopardstown and the step up in trip will suit him. In the Ribblesdale, I'm on GARDEN OF EDEN (3.40) who won a Listed race at Naas and is a tough filly who will be suited by the step up in trip. She found plenty for pressure and showed a good attitude, so I'm looking forward to getting back on her. Stablemate Ecstatic is a likeable filly too. She's got lots of ability and we're yet to see the best of her. Hopefully, ILLINOIS (4.20) can prove to be a good replacement for Kyprios in the Gold Cup. Illinois has never gone this far but I've won it on a couple of four-year-olds who came into the race with the same profile. He won the Queen's Vase here last year, is a winner of the St Leger, won well at Longchamp on his final start last season and then made a winning return at Chester this year. He gives every impression he'll stay and likes quick ground. Candelaria is another four-year-old who is open to improvement, while Trawlerman has been here and got the T-shirt so is a solid challenger. It's not quite as hot as it can get in the SERENGETI (5.00) but he takes his chance in the Ascot Stakes. He made the running in the French Guineas but faded. This is a drop in class but it's hard to know his level. TRINITY COLLEGE (5.35) comes into this meeting off the back of a very good fourth in the French Derby and has every chance of winning this on all known form. Detain finished just ahead of him in that, so is a worthy favourite. Reyenzi is an outsider to look out for. I'm riding ROI DE FRANCE (6.10) for John Gosden in the last. He's got to carry plenty of weight but has run well in some very hot handicaps. He is capable of making the frame. Ryan Moore is a World Pool ambassador FREE BETS - GET THE BEST SIGN UP DEALS AND RACING OFFERS Commercial content notice: Taking one of the offers featured in this article may result in a payment to The Sun. You should be aware brands pay fees to appear in the highest placements on the page. 18+. T&Cs apply. Remember to gamble responsibly A responsible gambler is someone who: Establishes time and monetary limits before playing Only gambles with money they can afford to lose Never chases their losses Doesn't gamble if they're upset, angry or depressed Gamcare – Gamble Aware – Find our detailed guide on responsible gambling practices here.
Scottish Sun
18-06-2025
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
World Pool ambassador Ryan Moore talks through his rides on day two of Royal Ascot
MOORE MOORE MOORE World Pool ambassador Ryan Moore talks through his rides on day two of Royal Ascot Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) THE sun is out and Love is in the air on Day Two. My afternoon kicks off with TRUE LOVE (2.30) in the five-furlong Queen Mary. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 1 Ryan Moore talks through his rides on day two at Ascot Credit: Shutterstock Editorial She has finished second on both starts so far but she is by No Nay Never and is a big, strong filly who will be suited by a strong pace over this trip. SHACKLETON (3.05) needed the run over a mile and a quarter at the Curragh last time and it was a messy race. He will take a step forward for that. You must stay the trip round here and my horse will. Some people out there still doubt LOS ANGELES (4.20) but that doesn't bother me. He's rock solid and I wouldn't swap him for anything. The stiff mile and a quarter at Ascot will suit him well. Anmaat won the Champions Stakes in October and ran well when we fended him off at the Curragh last month. He's an obvious threat. See The Fire has been supplemented at a fair cost and was impressive at York. She is a lovely filly but maybe she is better suited to the Knavesmire rather than here. Map Of Stars was a little unlucky when second in the Prix Ganay and Ombudsman is a talented horse who I've ridden a couple of times. He might not want the ground as quick as it will be today. I'm on THE LIFFEY (5.00) in the Royal Hunt Cup, who has been very well backed. He finished fourth on his first start for Joseph O'Brien in a Listed race at Navan. That form has been franked, as the winner has gone on to win a decent race in France. There's plenty to like about The Liffey, but it's very competitive and lots of yards will think they have a well-handicapped horse. I close with FIRST APPROACH (6.10) as Kansas is a non-runner. He was too keen last time and didn't stay the six furlongs so dropping back in trip is the right move. It looks wide open. Ryan Moore is a World Pool ambassador
