Tote adds Hong Kong racing coverage to portfolio

With horse racing in the UK suspended as a result of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, the Tote has expanded its offering to give customers the opportunity to bet on racing from Hong Kong.

Tote customers will now be able to play the Placepot – pool betting on where a horse will place in a race – on meetings from the Happy Valley and Sha Tin Racecourses each week. Racing will start around midday in the UK for Wednesday’s racing at Happy Valley, and from 6am onwards at Sha Tin on weekends.

Racing will also be streamed live, with customers able to place single leg bets, on Sundays and Wednesdays.
 
“We are delighted to be able to develop our partnership with the Hong Kong Jockey Club to showcase their world class racing to as broad an audience as possible, alongside providing new betting opportunities, including the Placepot which remains the Tote’s most popular bet,” UK Tote Group chief executive Alex Frost said.
 
“These are unprecedented times and challenging for everyone involved in horseracing,” Frost said. “We want the Tote to be true to its founding principles, being on the side of both horseracing and the customers as we work with international partners to support and promote the sport around the world.”

He thanked the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s chief executive Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges and its executive director of customer and international business development Richard Cheung for helping strike the agreement.

“The UK Tote is our key commingling partner and I would like to congratulate them on the introduction of the Placepot on Hong Kong races for UK customers which is traditionally a very popular bet,” Cheung added. “We look forward to continuing to work with Alex Frost and his team at the UK Tote.”

Horse racing in the UK has been suspended since 17 March, having initially aimed to continue behind closed doors. This suspension will remain in place until the end of April, though could be extended further.