Tabcorp has partnered with the Hong Kong Jockey Club to create a betting pool for the 2023 Black Caviar Lightning Stakes at Flemington that will rival the Melbourne Cup. The first “world pool” on an Australian thoroughbred meeting could lead to at least $70 million in tote pool bets on all races.
World pools give bettors bigger and more reliable betting options, as they are created by parimutuel operators from four different continents and have greater global liquidity.
A Win for the Whole Industry
Tabcorp CEO Adam Rytenskild called the pooling historic and said the World Pool was fantastic for the Victoria Racing Club and, most importantly, for Tabcorp’s bettors who would enjoy “the super-sized pools.”
Rytenskild went on to say that Tabcorp was in a transitional period and added that the Black Caviar Lighting Race Day world pool was an example of which direction they wanted to take and how they planned to innovate for their customers and partners.
The Tabcorp chief noted that a world pool gave punters more options and also brought global exposure to the Group 1 meeting. In his eyes, the pool was “a win for the whole industry.”
Rytenskild confirmed that Tabcorp would expand the partnership with the Hong Kong Jockey Club and was confident that there would be more Australian feature meetings that would come with World Pools in the future.
The Perfect Way to Celebrate the Asian Racing Conference
Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, who has been a Hong Kong Jockey Club CEO since 2007, said it was wonderful to work with Tabcorp and VRC. He claimed that the Lightning Stakes at Flemington was the perfect way to mark the Asian Racing Conference “where international commingling” would be the focus. The Asian Racing Conference starts on Wednesday.
The Hong Kong Jockey Club is partnered with renowned organizations, such as EPL club Manchester United and Swiss watch brand Longines. As VRC Chairman Neil Wilson noted, by partnering with it and creating the World Pool, Tabcorp would “significantly increase the global reach of racing.”
