Hong Kong’s champion, Romantic Warrior, celebrated a glorious victory in the Cox Plate, drawing an unprecedented level of enthusiasm from punters, who collectively wagered nearly $12 million into the World Pool through five distinct bet types.
The total betting turnover reached HK59.95 million or approximately $A11.99 million, driven by the international interest in Hong Kong’s remarkable champion.
These staggering numbers establish this World Pool race as the second-largest in history, trailing only the Queen Elizabeth Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Preliminary estimates indicate that the win pool for the Cox Plate received slightly over $3.6 million in wagers, surpassing both the Caulfield Cup ($2.55 million) and the Everest ($2.84 million).
The excitement extended to other bet types as well, with the quinella pool attracting about $2.35 million in wagers. Furthermore, the place pool received $1.97 million in bets, the duet pool gathered $1.69 million, and the trifecta pool saw a substantial amount of interest with $1.62 million in bets.
The World Pool encompasses 25 co-mingled tote pools, managed by the Hong Kong Jockey Club, including both totes in Victoria and New South Wales.
Romantic Warrior, who started as a $3.60 favourite in fixed odds with Australian betting sites, paid a much smaller amount of $2.80 on Victoria’s S-TAB due to the Hong Kong betting interest on the race.