Horse Racing Betting Guide 2025: Placepots Explained

Placepot Betting

How Do I Place a Bet? 

Punters must select at least one horse in races 1-6 to be placed at a selected meeting. The track selection will be decided by the Tote, although it is most often the biggest meeting of the day. 

Punters playing the Placepot select a horse(s) they think will be placed in each race. Any number of horses can also be selected for each race, but the more horses in the bet, the more the bet costs. 

How Much Does the Bet Cost? 

To calculate the cost of your Placepot bet, you multiply your chosen stake by the number of horses you picked in each race. 

• For example, if choosing two horses to place in each race and staking 20c, the total best cost will be:
  €0.20 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 = €12.80 (64 bets x 20c)

If you only want to choose a single horse for each race, then your unit stake will equal your total spend. 

• For example, if you choose a €5 unit stake, the bet will cost you €5:
  €5.00 x 1 x 1 x 1 x 1 x 1 x 1: €5 

But you can choose any number of horses in each race, and this number doesn't have to be consistent for each race. 

• For example, you want to increase your chances if the first and last races look tricky, so you pick two horses in those races. But for the rest of the races (2-5), you opt for just a single horse. If staking €5 the total spend will be €20:
  €5.00 x 2 x 1 x 1 x 1 x 1 x 2 = €20 (4 bets x €5.00)

How Do I Win? 

Punters win when they have chosen a placed horse in every race. It doesn't matter if your horse wins or not, as long as a selection finishes in the place positions. 

Similar to an accumulator, it's all or nothing with the Placepot. You need to have a single horse placed in all six races or else you win nothing - no losers allowed! 

How Much Can I Win? 

The total amount bet on the Placepot by punters goes into a ‘pool’. The Tote takes 27% of the total pool, which is redistributed to the sport of horse racing, and 73% is split between the winners. Then, the final dividend is calculated to a €1 level stake.

For example: 

€100,000 is paid into a Placepot at a particular meeting, and there are a total of 1,000 winning tickets.

• 100,000 x 73% = €73,000

• 73,000/1000 tickets = €73

This means that the Placepot dividend is €73 for every €1 placed. 

How much you are paid out is determined by how much you staked per permutation (your unit stake) and the number of permutations that landed (the amount of winning tickets).

To calculate your Placepot payout, multiply your stake per line by the amount of winning lines you have. Your winnings will then be either that percentage of the published €1-stake winnings or a multiple of the published dividend.