Tote and Chester Race Company agree partnership

The UK Tote Group and Chester Race Company have announced a four-year partnership.

It will see the Wigan-based Tote return to Chester Racecourse in 2020 to supplement the existing on-course betting provision from Chester Bet and take up sponsorship of the historic Chester Cup as part of an exclusive Boodles May Festival betting partnership.

The Tote will also return to Bangor-on-Dee Racecourse, near Wrexham, and from February will become the exclusive pool betting solution, replacing Bangor Bet, while the Bangor Sport Betting Shop will remain in situ.

The agreement with Chester Race Company will see the Tote become the on-course betting partner at Chester and Bangor-on-Dee Racecourses, with the new Tote brand featuring prominently across both sites.

As part of an improved service, Chester Racecourse will continue to deliver the existing range of Win, Place, Forecast & Tricast bets via Chester Bet, alongside a new range of bets including the Placepot, Quadpot and Scoop 6, facilitated by the Tote.

The Tote will return to sponsoring the Chester Cup in 2020.

This is the feature race of the final day of the Boodles May Festival and will have a prize fund of £154,000 making it the most lucrative race run at Chester Racecourse.

This historic race, which started in 1824 and was initially known as the Tradesman’s Cup, was last sponsored by the Tote between 1996 and 2011, during which time the Roodee turf celebrated triumphant wins from Rainbow High, Anak Pekan and Bulwark.

The Tote will also sponsor further races at the Boodles May Festival, including a race on the opening day, City Day, the feature Ormonde Stakes on Ladies Day and the Chester Plate, alongside the Chester Cup, on the final day of the Festival, Chester Cup Day.

In addition, the Tote have committed to supporting supplementary races throughout the season on the following days: Saturday, May 23 – Roman Day; Saturday, July 25 – Midsummer Meeting; Saturday, September 12 – Autumn Festival; and Saturday, September 26 – Season Finale.

The Tote will also sponsor races across five days throughout 2020 at Bangor-on-Dee Racecourse, commencing on Friday, February 7, at the Heritage Day meeting.

Alex Frost, UK Tote Group chief executive, said: “We are delighted to be working with Chester Race Company to ensure pool betting is once again available to the quarter of a million people who visit Chester and Bangor-on-Dee racecourses every year.

“I would like to thank Richard and his team for the forward-thinking and dynamic way that they have approached our new partnership.

“We look forward to once again seeing the Tote sponsoring the historic Chester Cup and further developing the ways in which the Tote can support and promote racing at Chester and Bangor-on-Dee Racecourses.”

Richard Thomas, Chester Race Company chief executive, said: “We are excited to have agreed this innovative partnership with the UK Tote Group.

“Our priority is to provide racegoers the very best experience when visiting our racecourses and the return of the Tote on-course ensures our customers will benefit from an efficient and varied betting experience, delivered via a newly-enhanced service.”