Britain is the centre of betting expertise in the world and there are more varied ways of placing a wager here than anywhere else. The plethora of betting opportunities off course are matched at Aintree Racecourse where there are plenty of betting outlets thanks to totepool which offers pool betting, racecourse bookmakers or the racecourse betting shop.

The Tote

The tote, whose profi ts go back into horseracing, has a variety of bets on offer through totepool - totewin, toteplace, toteexacta, totetrifecta, toteplacepot and totejackpot. The tote is predicting massive on-course turnover at this year’s John Smith’s Grand National meeting and expects to take £2 million on the Saturday alone. The three days at Aintree in April are a hugely important part of the tote’s annual fi gures and 2008 will be just as vital as ever.

Racecourse PR manager Damian Walker explained: “Totepool betting comes into its own at these huge festivals and Aintree is one of the biggest for turnover in the racing calendar. “We smashed the previous best toteplacepot pool at Aintree in 2007 with a staggering £384,308 wagered on the bet which produced a dividend of £7,305 for anyone lucky enough to get a horse placed in the first six races.

“Totewin beat the Starting Price on fi ve of the six races on Grand National day and a £10 totewin on all six winners paid £1,069 versus £858 at Starting Price. “But, perhaps, the most staggering statistic to come out of the meeting was the fact that the totewin would have beaten Starting Price on 37 out of the 40 horses in the Grand National. “In other words, if you had backed any horse bar Cloudy Bays, Point Barrow and Simon on the tote, you would have received a bigger payout than at SP. The message is simple - if you’re going to have a bet in the Grand National - make sure it is with the tote.

“We expect to take £2 million on-course on Grand National day and approaching £5 million over the three days.” Both these landmark figures were expected to have been breached in 2007, but a number of factors held back turnover according to general manager Dennis Cooper. Cooper said: “We were on target to smash through £2 million turnover on Grand National Day in 2007 but in the end we took £1.8 million.

“The last race was abandoned in the interests of equine welfare as there had been a considerable delay to the sixth race as a horse was being treated on the track. “Horses were withdrawn and we returned plenty of stakes from race six due to non-runners and had to return almost a quarter of a million pounds on the last race which was abandoned.

“We began planning for this season’s meeting straight after the last one, but there are some things like this that you just cannot legislate for. “Also, the warm weather last year changed the way people moved around the racecourse and the areas where they congregated. “Both the tote and the racecourse were caught out by this to some extent and we have reviewed our temporary betting kiosks positions with this in mind for 2008 should there be a repeat of the higher temperatures.

“We will have over 500 staff on each day of the meeting and more betting positions than ever before.” Life-changing sums can be won at big meetings such as the three-day John Smith’s Grand National meeting. Walker added: “Three years ago had you staked just a £1
totetrifecta and correctly predicted a 1, 2, 3 of 7/1 favourite Hedgehunter to beat runner-up Royal Auclair and third-placed Simply Gifted, then you would now be £44,338.60 richer. “But the bet we would like to see rolling over to Aintree is the totejackpot and, if that happens, then we could be looking at a £1 million jackpot pool come Grand National day.”

StatisticsDue to the size and competitive nature of the John Smith’s Grand National fi eld, a horse with a double-figure starting price often wins the race. Red Rum (twice at 9/1), Grittar (7/1), West Tip (15/2), Rough Quest (7/1), Earth Summit (7/1) and 2005 victor Hedgehunter (7/1) are the only horses to have been returned at less than 10/1 since 1968. Only four of the last 33 favourites have won: Grittar in 1982, Rough Quest in 1996, Earth Summit in 1998 and Hedgehunter in 2005.

Papillon was backed down to be 10/1 joint second favourite when winning in 2000 and both West Tip (15/2) and Rhyme ‘N’ Reason (10/1) were also second best in the betting.
There have been eight long-priced surprises in the last 29 runnings: Last Suspect at 50/1, Royal Athlete and Ben Nevis both at 40/1, Silver Birch and Red Marauder at 33/1, Maori Venture and Little Polveir both at 28/1 and Rubstic at 25/1. Even so, fancied horses have a fair record. Since 1968, when Red Alligator came in at 100/7, horses starting at 16/1 or under have won 29 times.

The shortest odds for winners have been Poethlyn (1919) at 11/4, Huntsman (1862) at 3/1 and Roquefort (1885) at 100/30. The longest odds are 100/1, with four victors being returned at that price - Tipperary Tim (1928), Gregalach (1929), Caughoo (1947) and Foinavon (1967). Three 100/1 shots have been placed since 1980 - Over The Deel in 1995, Camelot Knight in 1997 and Philson Run who was fourth last year.

See all our free bets on the Grand National here