Betting Guide

Hoping to back a winner is a big part of the day for many racegoers. If you fancy a flutter, have fun wandering around and comparing prices. Pick your horses from the race card, whether you carefully study the Racing Post or simply pick your favourite colour! Here at Cartmel you have three options for placing a bet around the racecourse. You can use cash or card at all of our bookmakers.

William Hill

The world’s biggest bookmaker, William Hill, has desks beside both of our main bars, one in the Paddock Enclosure and one in the Course Enclosure. Here you can place bets not only at Cartmel but at other racecourses around the globe.

Betting options include:

  • Race winner – simply back a horse to win
  • Each Way bet – combines two bets, one on the horse to win and another on it to place
  • Match bets – bet on one horse to finish in front of another
  • Place markets – pick a horse to finish within a certain number of places (e.g., to finish first three)
  • Betting without – take the favourite out of the equation (e.g. if your horse finishes second to the favourite, your bet lands)

The Tote

The Tote has red and white kiosks at the end of the Grandstand in the Paddock Enclosure and on the hill in the Course Enclosure. The Tote offers ‘pool betting’, which is a bit like a lottery. For each race, all the stake money is put into one pot and then shared out between the winners.

Different types of bet are available such as win, place, each way and an exacta (picking the first two in the correct order).

The Tote’s famous placepot bet rewards customers who can pick a horse to place in each of the first 6 races. You also have the option to place a ‘Lucky Pick’ bet, which is similar to the lucky dip on the National Lottery. When betting with the Tote, tell them the number of your horse, rather than the name.

On Course Bookies

In both Enclosures you’ll find a number of on course bookies, who offer fixed odds betting.

Each one displays their best ‘price’ or ‘odds’ for every horse. They are in competition with each other to provide the best price. When you bet on with a bookmaker, you get the odds on display at that time. So although you know exactly how much you’ll win when you place your bet, you run the risk of losing out if the odds on the horse gets bigger!

To place your bet:

  • Pick your horse and look around for the best odds.
  • Choose what you would like to spend – what you can afford to lose.
  • Tell the bookmaker the name of the horse, not the number.
  • Collect a betting ticket as a receipt.
  • Make sure you check your ticket!
  • If your horse wins, present your ticket to the same bookmaker and collect your winnings!
  • Never destroy your ticket until you hear the ‘Weighed In’ announcement which will be made over the PA – there may still be a Steward’s Enquiry and the first past the post may be disqualified.

However you choose to place your bet, backing a horse is certainly a fun way to add a little spice to your day out with us. Please remember, however, to gamble responsibly.

www.begambleaware.org