The other additions to the schedule include the G1 Tattersalls Irish 1,000 Guineas and G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup, both run at the Curragh on Sunday, May 26, plus five new fixtures from Australia–starting with G1 Blue Diamond Stakes Day at Caulfield on Saturday, February 24–and two from South Africa.

The World Pool, the largest globally commingled horse racing pools, was created and is powered by the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC). In total, there will be 21 World Pool fixtures in the first half of 2024, with bettors from 28 countries able to bet into the same pools on those given days.

Michael Fitzsimons, executive director, Wagering Products, at the Hong Kong Jockey Club, said, “We're excited to be continuing the expansion of World Pool in 2024 by adding new race days from Australia, South Africa, the UK and Ireland to our growing list of fixtures.

“We want World Pool to be in action for the biggest races throughout the year, so it's fantastic to add two more historic Classics to our roster in 2024, with the English 1,000 Guineas and Irish 1,000 Guineas joining the Epsom Derby, Irish Derby and English 2,000 Guineas as World Pool race days.”

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Beginning on Jan. 1, 2024, the agreement ensures all pool bets placed on racing from Ascot Racecourse will continue to support liquidity in the UK pool which has been operated by the UK Tote Group since October 2019. The “Bet with Ascot” brand is included under this umbrella of bets as long as the bets are placed on the Tote website, through bookmakers and third-party partners on course.

This agreement also dovetails with the initiative that assists Ascot with being central to the World Pool since it began at Royal Ascot in 2019. Tote operators from 28 countries currently commingle pools which are hosted by the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC).

Alastair Warwick, chief executive of Ascot Racecourse, said, “We are delighted have a new agreement in place with the Tote which will allow us to build on what has been achieved domestically and internationally over the last four years. As one of the original architects of World Pool, alongside the Hong Kong Jockey Club and the Tote, we are excited to support the further development of World Pool to ensure both racing fans and the sport benefit from it. We will ensure that Ascot's top-class racing continues to be at the forefront of British racing's efforts to see that the sport is watched and bet on by a growing domestic and global audience.”

Alex Frost, chief executive of the UK Tote Group, added, “The Tote is immensely proud to be a partner of Ascot Racecourse which hosts some of the most prestigious racedays in the sporting calendar. This new agreement ensures Ascot Racecourse and the Tote are perfectly positioned to work together to achieve a strong UK Pool, alongside the continued development of World Pool, which are crucial elements to the future financial sustainability of the sport.”

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Held at Caulfield, the Blue Diamond on Feb. 24 will become the sixth World Pool event in Australia, after the Turnbull S. Day, The Everest Day, Caulfield Cup Day, Cox Plate Day and Victoria Derby Day. A trio of Australian races filled out the top five World Pool turnover races of 2023, with the HK$60 million (approx. £6 million) staked on October's Cox Plate meaning it was the second highest turnover of any race last year, and the fifth highest World Pool turnover race ever run.

The first World Pool event of 2024 will be held at Kenilworth Racecourse–the Cape Town Met Day on Jan. 27. Next on the calendar will be the Blue Diamond S., which is run on the same day as the Saudi Cup meeting at King Abdulaziz Racecourse. All three World Pool fixtures will be for selected races at the meetings.

Michael Fitzsimons, executive director, Wagering Products of the HKJC, said, “The introduction of World Pool in Australia in 2023 was a major success story with six new race days being opened up to global punters and exceptional turnover being generated.

“We're hoping to build on that momentum in 2024 and are thrilled that World Pool will be operational on Blue Diamond S. Day for the first time. We are excited to be covering such an important 2-year-old contest, as well as returning to Kenilworth for Cape Town Met Day and King Abdulaziz for Saudi Cup Day.”

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The groom of near black superstar, Tomohiro Kusunoki, is the recipient of a VIP trip to the 2024 Hong Kong Derby or the 2024 Champions Day along with three guests. Trained by Tetsuya Kimura, Equinox received 47% of the vote to defeat Group 1-winning sprinter Shaquille (GB) (Charm Spirit {Ire}) and other top-level winners Ozzmosis (Aus) (Zoustar {Aus}) and Quickthorn (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}). There were 27 individual World Pool Moment of the Day winners in 2023, with each winning groom receiving £4,000 (approx. HK$38,350), and an independent panel from the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) narrowed that down to the four finalists.

Michael Fitzsimons, executive director, wagering products of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, said, “It's a great pleasure to reveal Equinox as our 2023 World Pool Moment of the Year winner and present his groom Tomohiro Kusunoki with the winning prize of a VIP trip for four to Hong Kong next year.

“Extraordinary performances like Equinox's Dubai Sheema Classic win don't happen by chance and World Pool are proud to support the dedication and daily care provided by grooms and stable staff of these great equine athletes. We look forward to welcoming Tomohiro and his guests to Hong Kong next year.”

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The largest globally commingled horse racing pools created and powered by the HKJC, the World Pool started and finished the year at Flemington Racecourse in Australia. In total, there were 222 races–up from 154 races in 2022–in eight countries. World Pool was active in Germany, Saudi Arabia, Argentina and Australia for the first time and expanded its imprint with extra races from the UK and Ireland. Cox Plate Day in Australia amassed HK$60 million in bets and was one of the top five World Pool highest single-race turnovers. The G1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee S. at Royal Ascot, set a new single race turnover record at HK$66.2m. King George Day at Ascot saw the biggest jump in turnover for a UK or Irish raceday, rising from HK$253m to a new record of HK$287m, an increase of over 13%, while 2,000 Guineas Day as well as days one and three of Royal Ascot also posted year-on-year increases. Dubai World Cup night saw the second highest growth, with turnover up from HK$280m to HK$315m this term.

Michael Fitzsimons, executive director, wagering products of the HKJC, said, “World Pool was created to unite the world's best racing events and provide racing fans with a value product that has never been seen before.

“We are absolutely delighted with how World Pool has performed in 2023. We've not only seen records broken and growth in countries where World Pool was already in operation, but a very promising reception in new jurisdictions too.

“We'd like to thank all of our partners around the world for their commitment and passion in helping us to grow World Pool. This is just the beginning.”

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For the first time ever on an Australian race meeting, totalisator Win, Place, Quinella, Trifecta and Duet wagers from the state of New South Wales were combined with bets placed in Victoria and Western Australia as well as the Australian Capital Territory through S-TAB.

A total of HK$284.3 million (A$57.5 million) was held on the nine races offered from Randwick, topping the HK$253 million wagered on Lightning Sakes Day at Flemington in February. It also set a new benchmark of almost HK$31.6 million (A$6.4 million) per race, compared with almost HK$26.7 million (A$5.4 million) on five races from Turnbull Stakes Day last weekend.

Significantly, the feature A$20 million The Everest–won by Think About It–had the third-highest turnover of all 195 World Pool races worldwide in 2023 at HK$51.5 million (A$10.4 million).

Only the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee S. at Royal Ascot, which attracted HK$66.2 million in bets, and the G1 Dubai World Cup, which generated HK$54.5 million, garnered more betting attention–and both had six bet types to The Everest's five.

Additionally, the A$8,000 World Pool Moment of the Day was awarded to Raj Kumar, the groom of Front Page, who became a back-to-back winner of The Kosciuszko. Kumar is now in the running to win a trip to Hong Kong next year should his victory be selected as the World Pool Moment of the Year.

World Pool action returns to Melbourne next weekend for Caulfield Cup Day (Oct. 21), which will be held in conjunction with British Champions Day at Ascot in the UK, before Cox Plate Day (Oct. 28) and Victoria Derby Day (Nov. 4) are also taken globally.

For more information, click here.

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Defending G1 Melbourne Cup champion Gold Trip took the featured G1 Turnbull S. The combined Win pool on the five World Pool races (A$6,545,489.82) was almost nine times the combined pool on the five non-World Pool races with the Victorian tote ($743,831.06).

Meanwhile, the combined Duet (Quinella Place) pools on the final five races (A$6,732,853.78) represented a 36.8% increase on the same pools for the first five races (A$18,226.68).

The first ever World Pool on a Sydney meeting will take place Oct. 14 when nine races from Randwick, including the A$20-million The Everest, will be available for betting on six continents. World Pool meetings will follow in Melbourne for Caulfield Cup Day (Oct. 21), Cox Plate Day (Oct. 28) and Victoria Derby Day (Nov. 4). British Champions Day at Ascot Racecourse will also be included Oct. 21.

For more information, click here.

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The HKJC confirmed that while the local tote in Argentina will not commingle internationally, other partners' pools from the likes of Australia, France, North America and Hong Kong will be joined up by World Pool.

The Latin American Group 1 contest will close a major weekend of World Pool action, with five races on Turnbull Stakes Day from Flemington in Australia followed by four races from Newmarket on Sun Chariot Day.

“One of the core motives for World Pool is to connect totes from across the globe for the most important races, so we're delighted to have extended our reach to take in Latin America's biggest Group 1 contest,” said Michael Fitzsimons, Executive Director, Wagering Products at the Hong Kong Jockey Club. “The combination of Turnbull Stakes Day, Sun Chariot Stakes Day and then the Gran Premio Latinoamericano on Sunday makes this weekend's World Pool action a real Group 1 feast for punters around the globe.”

Click here for more information.

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The fixture will host four World Pool races for the first time, and the G1 Virgin Bet Sun Chariot S. will be worth £275,000. Another stakes, the G3 Tattersalls October Auction S., will carry a purse of £150,000, and both the 10-furlong British EBF Premier Fillies' H. and the 12-furlong British Stallion Studs EBF Premier Fillies' H. will each boast prize-money of £70,000. This quartet of races have all been added to the World Pool, which was created and powered by the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC). Another World Pool event on the same day is Turnbull Stakes Day at Flemington in Australia, which will conduct the G1 Turnbull S.

Michael Fitzsimons, Executive Director, Wagering Products, at the Hong Kong Jockey Club, said, “There are many strategic objectives aligned to World Pool and one of them is promoting Group 1 races so adding the Turnbull S. and Sun Chariot S. to the roster on the same day makes for a fantastic dual-hemisphere treat for fans.

“The Sun Chariot S. itself is a race with a rich history and we look forward to another exciting contest in 2023. I would also like to thank The Jockey Club and RMG for their continued support in making World Pool the important global brand it has become today.”

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Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) delivered in the highlight race of the day–the G1 Irish Champion S. This was the third year World Pool was in operation on the Irish card, and turnover was almost on par with 2022's figure of HK$234.8m (approx. €27.9m) and significantly up on 2021's figure of HK$192.8m (€22.9m).

Michael Fitzsimons, Executive Director, Wagering Products, at the Hong Kong Jockey Club, said, “We were treated to some excellent racing at Leopardstown on Saturday and it was really pleasing to see such strong turnover on the day. Aidan O'Brien continued his love affair with the Irish Champion S., while Tahiyra was hugely impressive once again in the Matron S.

“The whole racing industry in Ireland has really embraced the World Pool concept. There was lots of fantastic branding all over the course; strong, competitive fields and we are delighted with how these World Pool meetings are progressing.

“Thanks to everyone at Leopardstown, Horse Racing Ireland and Tote Ireland, as well as all the connections of the runners. We're already looking forward to our Irish World Pool fixtures next year.”

The World Pool Moment of the Day was awarded to groom Davy Glennon, whose Tahiyra (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}) was winning her third consecutive Group 1 and fourth overall in the Matron S. at Leopardstown. Besides the €4,000 monetary award, Glennon is now in the running to win a trip to Hong Kong in 2024, if Tahiyra's Matron victory is selected as the World Pool Moment of the Year.

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