A Tote Placepot is a renowned race day ritual and Tote’s most popular bet.
We strongly recommend checking out our recently updated list of top-rated placepot betting sites online.
Many sports bettors wager the placepot on the racecourse or in the high street betting shop – but with the Tote Plus betting promotion, nearly all have come to realise the Tote Mobile App or the Tote.co.uk website is by far the best place to wager Placepots in July 2025.
For many horse racing punters, the Placepot is the first bet of the day.
Having the chance of winning large payouts with only a small stake makes placepots a popular bet type.
If you walk into any betting shop in the UK, you’ll often see lots of different types of betting slips – one of the most popular has loads of boxes in a grid, much like a lottery ticket-type-thing – these are Tote Placepot slips. They are one of the most popular types of horse racing betting in the country.
Try out the great welcome bonus on the Tote.
Find out more about the Tote Placepot today (sometimes just called a Placepot) – a fun bet enjoyed by many punters every day.
Contents
- 1 What is a Tote Placepot?
- 2 Free Placepot with Tote
- 3 What Are The Placing in a Placepot?
- 4 How Much Do You Win in A Placepot?
- 5 Should I Just Bet on the Favourites in the Placepot and Be Quids in?
- 6 Is A Placepot Worth It?
- 7 How Many Horses Can I Pick In My Placepot?
- 8 Placepot Calculator
- 9 Can I Join With Others?
- 10 What About When There’s a Non-runner in a Placepot?
- 11 Any tips?
- 12 How to Pick My Placepot Horses?
- 13 History of Tote Placepot
- 14 Summary of the Placepot Bet – UK and Irish Meetings
What is a Tote Placepot?
A Placepot is a much-loved bet, placed by both amateur and professional gamblers because it’s a means of winning a large pot of cash for a small outlay.
The bet involves selecting horses that “place” in the first six races at a race meeting.
The prize money is a pool of money made up of every bet placed on the Tote Placepot – this is then split between the lucky winners. This means the payout differs every time.
Every UK racecourse meeting will offer a placepot. This typically only covers the first six races of the meeting, unless they’re feeling generous and do more, and the minimum stake starts from 5p!
Free Placepot with Tote
Tote is offering all new or existing customers a Free Placepot every Saturday.
Opt-in using the link below and you can claim a free £1 Placepot to use on any of Saturday’s Placepot pools.
The opt-in link will work from around 6 pm each Friday, but you can join Tote for free at any time.
New customers online only. Eligibility restrictions apply. One welcome offer per customer. Bet a minimum of £/€10 at odds of 1/1 (2.0) or greater across sports or racing (if EW then min £/€10 Win + £/€10 Place) within 7 days of registration to qualify. Receive £/€20 Tote Credit, £/€10 sports Free Bet and 20 Free Spins on Big Bass Bonanza within 48 hours of qualifying bet settlement. Qualifying bet is the first racing pool or sports bet added to the bet slip. 7-day expiry. 18+. Full T&Cs apply. Gambleaware.org.
Full T&C's ApplyWhat Are The Placing in a Placepot?
Places are determined by the number of runners in a race and are as follows:
- If > 4 runners, you must pick the winner
- Between 5 and 7, your horse can win or come second
- 8+ and your horse should place first, second or third
- 16 and over with a handicap, and you’re looking at the top 4
How Much Do You Win in A Placepot?
It depends on the size of the “pool” and how many people have placed a Placepot bet.
The average dividend is £441 in the past year with Tote+ to a £1 stake.
Should I Just Bet on the Favourites in the Placepot and Be Quids in?
It’s not that simple or easy, and if everyone did that, then the payout would be very low. That said, there’s an option on the Placepot betting slip to back the starting place favourite in every race.
The aim of a tote placepot isn’t to outright win the race; you need your chosen horse to place. So, yes, although it’s very tempting to back the favourite to win or place, it’s always good to identify a favourite you think is weak and won’t, and go against them. There’s a chance that a favourite could fall, run below form or have an unlucky run, and this would wipe out a considerable part of the competition in the pool and increase the returns.
Is A Placepot Worth It?
A placepot is a good bet (if you have a good run) as you can have an interest in a lot of races.
You don’t need your horse to win every race just place, so this is much more feasible than win bets. It, therefore, offers good value for punters.
As the Tote provides Placepot guarantees on prize money, it is a great bet to place.
New customers online only. Eligibility restrictions apply. One welcome offer per customer. Bet a minimum of £/€10 at odds of 1/1 (2.0) or greater across sports or racing (if EW then min £/€10 Win + £/€10 Place) within 7 days of registration to qualify. Receive £/€20 Tote Credit, £/€10 sports Free Bet and 20 Free Spins on Big Bass Bonanza within 48 hours of qualifying bet settlement. Qualifying bet is the first racing pool or sports bet added to the bet slip. 7-day expiry. 18+. Full T&Cs apply. Gambleaware.org.
Full T&C's ApplyHow Many Horses Can I Pick In My Placepot?
You’re not limited to the number of horses you can pick per race in a Placepot. If you choose a few selections per race, the stakes will increase. To determine this, multiply the number of selections by the number of races.
Here are some numbers to help…
2 per race – (x 2) 6 times is £64
3 per race – (x3 ) 6 times is £729
4 per race – (x4 ) 6 times is £4096
Most punters select one stake per race, never mind three or more. More commonly, a placepot would be 1 x 2 x 1 x 2 x 4 x 1, which is £16.
If someone is adamant about their choice, or maybe there’s a favourite with a decent price in a win-only situation, they might very well opt for the one line. But if there’s a 16-runner handicap on that same card – and it looks fairly open – it would be smart to back a few options to give yourself more of a chance.
Placepot Calculator
The placepot calculator is a simple formula to work out your total stake in placepots.
You can select more than one horse in each leg, but this will multiply your total stake.
Here is how to calculate your total Placepot stake:
- Leg 1: 2 selections
- Leg 2: 2 selections
- Leg 3: 1 selection
- Leg 4: 3 selections
- Leg 5: 2 selections
- Leg 6: 1 selection
- Total Bets: 2 x 2 x 1 x 3 x 2 x 1 = 24 lines
- Total Stake: For a £2 stake x 24 lines = £48 total bet
The Placepot Calculator multiplies the number of horses selected in each of the six races. Then multiply the total lines by your stake to get the total bet amount.
Can I Join With Others?
Sure, and this can be fun. Pooling your money with friends and placing a joint bet can significantly increase your payout at the end. Granted, though, the prize itself will be big; you’ll have to split your winnings, too.
What About When There’s a Non-runner in a Placepot?
Good question. If you are betting online, you won’t be able to select a non-runner, and in a betting shop, ditto; it’ll be an assistant behind the counter telling you this. However, if the horse goes on to become an NR once the bet’s been placed, then your stake will go toward the starting place favourite. If there are two of them, you’ll get the lower racecard number.
Any tips?
Gambling is, first and foremost, meant to be fun. A placepot bet can be a great way to enjoy yourself and make a decent profit. It may require you to think outside the box and ignore what you’re usually told is a good thing, and not bet on the favourite. Bet on the lesser popular choices that might very well place.
Also, consider picking two runners (or more), and you’ll get something back, especially if the races appear tricky and competitive.
How to Pick My Placepot Horses?
Give yourself a good chance of making the right choice by examining the horse’s form. Pick one with consistency, one that doesn’t always win but does come in second, third or fourth. Not one that might win one day and not place at all the next, that’s too risky.
You want a consistent runner. Something reliable will bode you well with this type of bet.
A horse with a good track record of a solid performance under the same conditions is a great choice. A horse that has shown it has consistent form is a wiser pick than one that has never stepped foot on the same surface.
It’s worth having a punt on a runner that comes with a larger price tag who might outshine its odds. So, check out the trainers and their records, as well as any horses that are making a comeback from a break or went from a good streak into a dip and are now returning to the good form they previously showed.
History of Tote Placepot
Although not tied to one particular bookmaker, the Tote Placepot is the work of the Tote Business. They also offer other options, such as jackpots and quadpots, but placepots are probably the most popular.
The business was acquired by Betfred for a record £265m, just shy of a decade ago. It meant Betfred had sole control over operating pool bets at UK-based racecourses for 7 years, as well as the 500 Tote shops and their website (totesport.com).
Many leading bookies offer this bet with a Paddy Power placepot and a Ladbrokes placepot, one of the most popular bets in the UK every day.
Summary of the Placepot Bet – UK and Irish Meetings
A placepot is a fun way to bet; it is one of the most popular racing bets placed every day throughout the UK and Ireland, as well as at some major international meetings. They offer great value for money and possibly significant returns.
You will recognise the placepot bet slips in most betting shops across the country.
Good luck with your placepot and remember to bet responsibly!
