What is the Tote Placepot?

A pool bet on the first six races at a meeting. To win, at least one of the runners you choose in every leg has to be placed. All the stakes go into one pool, and after the deduction the pool is shared between every winning ticket.

How many places count in each leg?

It depends on the runners who start: 1 to 4 runners, the winner only; 5 to 7 runners, the first two; 8 or more, the first three; handicaps with 16 or more runners, the first four.

How is a Placepot stake worked out?

Multiply the number of runners you choose in each leg to get your lines, then multiply the lines by your unit stake. Two runners in every leg is 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 = 64 lines.

What happens if a runner I chose does not run?

Under the Tote's rules a non-runner is replaced by the starting price favourite in that leg (if there are joint favourites, the one with the lower racecard number). Check the current rules on the Tote's own site before you play.

What does the difficulty meter measure?

For each leg it counts how many runners, taken in TPR order, you would need for an 80% chance that at least one of them is placed. Multiply the six counts and you get the lines to cover the meeting. It describes how open each race is. It does not name or rank any horse.

Is the Placepot the same as the Quadpot?

No. The Quadpot is the same idea over races three to six only, with its own pool. Fewer legs means fewer lines, but usually a smaller dividend.

Placepot Explained, with a Free Daily Difficulty Meter

Today’s Placepot difficulty

Showing Monday, 2 November 2026. For each leg: runners, places paid, the share of TPR held by the top three, and how many runners it takes for an 80% chance of a placed runner. Lines is those six counts multiplied together. Difficulty bands are provisional and reviewed quarterly.

Plumpton GB

324 lines to cover Hard

Leg	Time	Race	Runners	Places	Top 3 share	Runners for 80%	Difficulty
1	13:00	Novices' Handicap Chase, 3m1f157y, Class 5	4	1	81%	3	Hard
2	13:30	Maiden Hurdle, 2m4f116y, Class 4	7	2	88%	2	Medium
3	14:00	Novices' Handicap Chase, 2m3f166y, Class 5	10	3	56%	2	Medium
4	14:30	Handicap Hurdle, 2m4f116y, Class 2	13	3	42%	3	Hard
5	15:00	Handicap Chase, 3m1f157y, Class 3	6	2	66%	3	Hard
6	15:30	Handicap Hurdle, 1m7f195y, Class 4	7	2	66%	3	Hard

Southwell GB

48 lines to cover Easy

Leg	Time	Race	Runners	Places	Top 3 share	Runners for 80%	Difficulty
1	13:15	Handicap Chase, 3m60y, Class 4	8	3	60%	2	Medium
2	13:45	Novices' Handicap Chase, 1m7f182y, Class 5	6	2	81%	1	Easy
3	14:15	NH Flat Race, 1m7f182y, Class 5	12	3	50%	2	Medium
4	14:45	Maiden Hurdle, 1m7f182y, Class 4	14	3	64%	2	Medium
5	15:15	Mares' Handicap Hurdle, 3m60y, Class 5	8	3	65%	2	Medium
6	15:45	Novices' Handicap Hurdle, 2m4f88y, Class 5	13	3	51%	3	Hard

Wolverhampton GB

72 lines to cover Easy

Leg	Time	Race	Runners	Places	Top 3 share	Runners for 80%	Difficulty
1	16:30	Handicap, 1m1f104y, Class 5	10	3	49%	3	Hard
2	17:00	Handicap, 7f36y, Class 4	9	3	47%	3	Hard
3	17:30	Handicap, 7f36y, Class 4	9	3	56%	2	Medium
4	18:00	Nursery Handicap, 5f21y, Class 6	11	3	57%	2	Medium
5	18:30	Novices' Stakes, 1m1f104y, Class 3	10	3	65%	1	Easy
6	19:00	Handicap, 1m5f219y, Class 5	9	3	64%	2	Medium

Chelmsford GB

216 lines to cover Hard

Leg	Time	Race	Runners	Places	Top 3 share	Runners for 80%	Difficulty
1	16:45	Handicap, 5f, Class 5	7	2	53%	3	Hard
2	17:15	Handicap, 1m5f66y, Class 4	6	2	73%	2	Medium
3	17:45	Maiden Stakes, 6f, Class 5	12	3	41%	3	Hard
4	18:15	Nursery Handicap, 6f, Class 5	10	3	45%	3	Hard
5	18:45	Novices' Stakes, 7f, Class 4	14	3	72%	2	Medium
6	19:15	Handicap, 7f, Class 4	8	3	62%	2	Medium

Runner counts exclude non-runners known at the last update and can still change. Before declarations the fields are entries, so places paid and the meter will move. The meter shows how spread a meeting is. It is not a way to land the Placepot: historically, covering the counted runners in every leg got all six legs through only about 4 times in 10, and every extra runner costs more lines. Members see the full TPR ratings for every runner on the dashboard.

How the Placepot works

The Placepot is the Tote's pool bet on the first six races at a meeting. You choose one or more runners in each race, called a leg. If at least one of your runners is placed in all six legs, your ticket shares the pool with every other winning ticket.

Because it is a pool, the dividend is not fixed in advance. It depends on how much was staked and how many tickets survive. When fancied runners fail to place, fewer tickets get through and the dividend grows.

Places paid in each leg

Runners	Places that count
1 to 4	Winner only
5 to 7	First two
8 or more	First three
Handicap, 16 or more	First four

The count is taken from the runners who start, so a non-runner can change the terms. An eight-runner race that loses one runner pays two places, not three.

Lines and stakes

Your number of lines is the number of runners you choose in each leg, multiplied together. One runner in every leg is a single line. Two in every leg is 64 lines. Three in two legs and one in the other four is 9 lines. Your total stake is lines multiplied by your unit stake.

That multiplication is why the Placepot rewards knowing which legs are open. Adding a runner to a leg that is already well covered costs as much as adding one to a leg that is wide open, but it does far less for your chance of getting through.

Reading the difficulty meter

The meter uses TPR V3, our rating that shows each horse's chance as a share of the race (every field adds up to 100). From those shares we work out each runner's chance of being placed, then count how many runners, taken in rating order, give an 80% chance that at least one of them is placed.

Runners for 80%: 1 means one runner covers most of the place chance on its own. 4 or more means the leg is open.
Top 3 share: how much of the race the three highest-rated runners hold. Above 70% is compact. Below 45% is open.
Lines to cover: the six counts multiplied together. It is a quick read on how spread a meeting is, and why some days are much harder to get through than others.

The meter describes the shape of each race. It does not tell you which runners to use, and an easy leg can still go wrong. Covering the counted runners in every leg has historically got all six legs through only about 4 times in 10. In general, harder meetings tend to pay bigger dividends, because fewer tickets get through.

Learn more

Our raceday guides go race by race through the big meetings, and the raceday hub shows how members use the ratings on the day.

FAQs

A pool bet on the first six races at a meeting. To win, at least one of the runners you choose in every leg has to be placed. All the stakes go into one pool, and after the deduction the pool is shared between every winning ticket.

Placepot explained