Cazoo Derby goes global with World Pool

31 May 2022

  • Cazoo Oaks Day to be a World Pool event for the first time, along with Derby Day
  • 7 bet types available in World Pool for racing fans around the globe
  • £2,000 to winning racing staff for World Pool Moment of the Day

The two-day Cazoo Derby, one of the centrepieces of the Platinum Jubilee Weekend, will be a World Pool event with millions of racing fans from over 20 countries able to watch and bet on the high-class racing action at Epsom Downs racecourse, where £3.36 million in prize money is on offer across the 14 races.

The UK Tote Group, leading British racecourses, and their media rights partners, principally Racecourse Media Group (RMG), have all worked closely with the Hong Kong Jockey Club to prepare for 17 World Pool racedays to be hosted in the UK and Ireland this year.

For the first time, Cazoo Ladies Day (Friday) becomes a World Pool event alongside Derby Day (Saturday), with World Pool sponsoring two races: The World Pool Handicap Stakes (2.35pm on Friday) and the World Pool Northern Dancer Handicap Stakes (5.15pm on Saturday).

As a collaboration of global Totes, World Pool enables racing fans from all over the globe to bet into a single pool. This creates huge liquidity and excellent value for racing fans. In 2021, £363 million was bet into the pools with a 15% higher return to a £1 bet, for online customers of the Tote, compared to the industry Starting Price.

In 2021, Cazoo Derby Day was a World Pool event for the first time and saw global betting volumes of £24 million, up from £1.1 million in 2020 when only UK customers bet into the pool. This created unrivalled value for Tote customers, with five out of the seven races paying over the Industry Starting Price (SP) and matching on the remaining two races with Tote Guarantee in place. Cazoo Derby winner Adayar paid £20.24 with Tote+ compared to 16/1 with bookmakers

 

World Pool growth on 2022 QIPCO 2000 Guineas Day

With seven pool bet types available in 2022, World Pool betting volumes are likely to exceed those of 2021. The QIPCO 2,000 Guineas last month saw total pool size grow to over £22 million, up from £14.1 million last year, assisted by improved field sizes compared to 2021. The biggest pool of the day was £4.1 million on the feature race, with Tote+ offering exceptional value to customers. Highlights from QIPCO 2,000 Guineas day included:

  • Tote+ Win beat SP in three of the eight races (and matched on the remaining five races with Tote Guarantee in place, which is available online and at racecourses)
  • Tote+ Win overround was 104% vs SP overround of 115%
  • 2000 Guineas winner Coroebus was Tote+ Win 7.70 vs 5/1 SP (+28%)
  • Tote+ Exacta beat forecast on seven out of eight races
  • Tote+ Trifecta beat Tricast on three out of four races

 

£50,000 to be won by Racing Staff for World Pool Moment of the Day and Year

World Pool “Moment of the Day” will be awarded by an industry representative at the 16 World Pool days in the lead up to British Champions Day, with the moment decided by a standout performance. This could include a wide-margin winner; a winner from an unlikely position; an extraordinary turn of foot at any point in the race; an above expectation performance by an outsider; or a human or equine interest story.

Racing staff who look after the winning horse for each World Pool “Moment of the Day” will receive £1,000 and a bottle of champagne.

World Pool “Moment of the Day” for 2,000 Guineas Day was won by Coroebus for providing Charlie Appleby with his first 2,000 Guineas victory and James Doyle with his first Classic winner. The £1,000 was awarded to Qadeer Mohammed who works at Moulton Paddocks. On being presented with the cheque Qadeer said: “It is an honour for me to look after such a wonderful horse. It was a very exciting day, and topped off by winning the World Pool Moment of the Day and receiving my £1,000 prize. I am looking forward to the rest of the summer and some more exiting runs from Coroebus.”

At the end of the World Pool season, the 16 winners of “Moment of the Day” at World Pool events will compete for the overall World Pool “Moment of the Year”, which will be presented on British Champions Day. The overall winner will be determined by a combination of scores derived from a public vote and an industry panel. The winning yard who looks after the horse will be awarded the World Pool “Moment of the Year” and receive £34,000.  

 

Global collaboration to grow World Pool

Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, Chief Executive Officer of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, said: “It is encouraging to see World Pool get off to a strong start for the 2022 British and Irish season with turnover for QIPCO 2000 Guineas Day up over a third on the previous year. World Pool is growing in popularity, with racing fans around the globe, and the significant increase in turnover has enabled investment in prize money and customer experience. We all look forward to enjoying the high-class racing from Epsom Downs on what will be a wonderful weekend of British racing, and we’re delighted World Pool is part of this special occasion.”

John Williamson, Chairman of the UK Tote Group, said: “In the year of the Platinum Jubilee, it is an honour for British racing to be a central part of the celebrations to mark Her Majesty The Queen’s 70 years of service to Great Britain and the Commonwealth. The Tote is committed to playing its part in safeguarding the wellbeing and future of the sport and we are delighted to be offering World Pool to racing fans on both days of this year’s Cazoo Derby Festival. In partnership with the Hong Kong Jockey Club, racecourses, and media rights organisations, we are focused on enhancing the important role that World Pool plays in supporting British and Irish racing financially and more broadly.”

Nevin Truesdale, Chief Executive of The Jockey Club, said: “Off the back of a successful first World Pool Day of 2022 for the QIPCO 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket, the whole team at the Jockey Club are honoured and enormously excited ahead of the Cazoo Derby, which is shaping up to be spectacular. In addition to welcoming racegoers across the official Platinum Jubilee Weekend as we celebrate the historic reign of Her Majesty The Queen, we look forward to fans of racing around the globe enjoying the very best action on the track. It is a pleasure to work with the Hong Kong Jockey Club, the UK Tote, and our media rights partner, Racecourse Media Group, to ensure we maximise the opportunity offered by World Pool to internationalise our sport and boost revenues to reinvest back into British racing.”

Please visit https://worldpool.hkjc.com/ for full details about World Pool and follow @WorldPool on Twitter for all the latest news.

 

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