Royal Ascot 2025 sees 10% rise in World Pool betting turnover

World Pool bet types for Royal Ascot 2025 were up 10% on 2024, rising to HK$1,574.4m (approx. £150m) for the five days, as punters from across the globe were able to access commingled pools on the event for the seventh consecutive season.

Including a record-high Wednesday of HK$330.7m, the most bet on the second day of the meeting since the inaugural World Pool meeting at Royal Ascot in 2019, turnover was up year-on-year every day last week.

Turnover on the 2022 meeting remains the highest at HK$1,609.1m, approximately 2% higher than this year’s level.

World Pool punters enjoyed overpays versus SP throughout the week and across multiple bet types. World Pool Win dividend beat SP in 20 of the 35 races, Exacta beat Forecast in 23 of the 35 races and Trifecta beat Tricast 24 times over the five days. Never Let Go in the Sandringham Stakes was the biggest Win overpay of the week, returning 30.35 versus 22/1 SP.

Sam Nati, Head of Commingling at the Hong Kong Jockey Club, said: “Royal Ascot 2025 was a great success in every way and certainly from a World Pool perspective as well. We’d like to thank and congratulate everybody at the racecourse on what was a brilliant week of racing.

“Turnover was strong and only marginally below 2022 which, of course, was inflated due to Covid. World Pool continues to drive some great value for customers, with dividends consistently outperforming the local SP.

“In terms of quality, quantity and competitiveness, the fields were fantastic all week. There was also some good international representation, both in the horses running and the jockeys taking part, so it was a good mix of key factors for both local and overseas punters.”

Felicity Barnard, Chief Executive at Ascot Racecourse, said: “It was a fantastic week and I’m thrilled that we’ve been able to be a window to the world for British racing. The World Pool numbers really reflect that and it’s great to see such an uplift in turnover year-on-year. There was also some real value for customers on and off site which showcases the benefits of World Pool and increased liquidity for everyone.”

Alex Frost, Chief Executive of the UK Tote Group, said: “Royal Ascot was absolutely exceptional, and we would like to congratulate Sir Francis Brooke, Felicity Barnard and the whole team at Ascot for delivering such a wonderful five days of racing.

“World Pool perfectly showcases the enduring appeal of British racing’s highest profile flat meeting, particularly with an international audience. This was especially the case with races which had international recognised runners, such as Rebel’s Romance winning the Group 2 Hardwicke Stakes and Satono Reve under Joao Moreira finishing a close second in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes, which saw both races deliver a 40% and 20% uplift in turnover respectively. We are delighted that the Tote once again offered British and Irish customers exceptional value.”

The five days saw plenty of movement in the World Pool Jockeys’ Championship as Oisin Murphy’s four winners across the meeting saw him open up a good lead at the top of the table on 114.40 points.

Jersey Stakes winner Noble Champion returned at the biggest World Pool win odds (33.20), and marked a second winner of the week for Kieran Shoemark, catapulting him into second place in the standings on 63.55.

Ryan Moore ended the meeting as top rider with seven winners, leaving him in third place in the table on 52.60, ahead of Irish jockeys Billy Lee (43.65) and Gary Carroll (32.10).

A World Pool Moment of the Day winner was chosen on each of the five days of Royal Ascot, with a total of £20,000 awarded to grooms.

Winning grooms collected a cheque for £4,000 as well as entry into the World Pool Moment of the Year competition for the chance to win a VIP trip to Hong Kong next year.

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The five winners were:

Queen Anne Stakes Day - DOCKLANDS and Michael Vokins

Prince of Wales's Stakes Day - HAVANA HURRICANE and Tom Clemit

Gold Cup Day - TRAWLERMAN and Ben de Paiva

Commonwealth Cup Day - CERCENE and TJ Comerford

Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes Day - LAZZAT and Jessy Cabot

The next World Pool fixture is Irish Derby Day at the Curragh this coming Sunday 29th June.

Upcoming fixtures:

June

Sunday 29: Irish Derby Day – Curragh Racecourse, Ireland (F)

July

Saturday 5: Durban July – Greyville Racecourse, South Africa (S)

Saturday 5: Eclipse Stakes – Sandown Racecourse, UK (S)

Sunday 6: Deutsches Derby – Hamburg Racecourse, Germany (P)

Saturday 26: King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes Day – Ascot Racecourse, UK (F)

Sunday 27: Champions Cup Day – Greyville Racecourse, South Africa (F)

Sunday 27: Grosser Preis Bayerisches Zuchtrennen Day – Munich Racecourse, Germany (P)

Tuesday 29: Goodwood Cup Day – Goodwood Racecourse, UK (F)

Wednesday 30: Sussex Stakes Day – Goodwood Racecourse, UK (F)

Thursday 31: Nassau Stakes Day – Goodwood Racecourse, UK (F)

August

Sunday 3: Preis der Diana - German Oaks Day – Dusseldorf Racecourse, Germany (P)

Sunday 10: Grosser Preis von Berlin Day – Hoppegarten Racecourse, Germany (P)

Wednesday 20: International Stakes Day – York Racecourse, UK (F)

Thursday 21: Yorkshire Oaks Day – York Racecourse, UK (F)

Friday 22: Nunthorpe Stakes Day – York Racecourse, UK (F)

Friday 22: Hopeful Stakes Day – Newmarket Racecourse, UK (P)

(Dates on the above fixtures list are based on Hong Kong time zone GMT+8.)

    *F: Full meeting - World Pool coverage on all races in the relevant meeting
     P: Part meeting - World Pool coverage only on selected races in the relevant meeting
S: Single race - World Pool coverage only on this race in the relevant meeting

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