1. Any Questions?

If you have never been racing before, whether at Plumpton Racecourse or anywhere else, you probably have lots of questions!  Beneath are some guides to help you understand more about the racehorse, and how to have a bet, if you want to learn more before you arrive.

Hopefully our frequently asked questions page can also help, with general information about Plumpton Racecourse - http://plumptonracecourse.co.uk/about/faqs/

If you have any other questions, please do get in contact either by emailing us racing@plumptonracecourse.co.uk or calling 01273 890383.

2. It’s All About The Horse

The Thoroughbred racehorse is beautiful, fascinating and exhilarating to watch especially close up. As Plumpton is a small course, you get plenty of opportunity to get close whether its watching the horses parade before racing, or standing close to a fence.

The most fundamental part of enjoying an exciting day’s Jump racing is understanding and appreciating the racehorse.

To find out more, including what makes a good racehorse, please download Racing For Change’s All About The Horse Booklet here.

All About The Horse Guide

3. Having A Bet

Having a bet is part of the fun of a day the races.

Download a PDF of Racing For Change’s Go Bet! Guide, a great introduction to having a flutter at the races.

All you need to do is

• Choose your horse
• Note the time of the race
• Decide how much you wish to stake – you can place a bet from as little as £2

You can then choose where to place your bet – making sure you always check your bet immediately on receipt, as any mistakes cannot be changed once a race has begun.

a. Totepool  kiosks

Betting with the tote is simple and easy to understand, with a fantastic range of different bets that offer great value and add to your enjoyment of the racing action.

Click on the button beneath to view the  totepool guide to betting at the races.

The important thing to remember about Totepool betting is that you are not betting against a bookmaker.  Each bet operates as a pool – so just like the lottery, how much you win depends on how many other winning tickets there are.

While this does mean you can’t ‘take the price’ as you would with the bookies, betting with the Tote often pays more. So check the live Tote information screens when placing your bet for an indication of how much you could win.

You’ll see that you have a much wider choice of bets available with the Tote compared to the bookmakers.  And only with the Tote do you have a chance to win big money for a small stake, with their unique bets like the toteplacepot and millionaire making totescoop6.

Tote betting points are conveniently located in all areas, so you should always find one nearby wherever you are on-course.  Friendly Tote staff will be on hand and are happy to help should you need assistance in placing your bet.

For further guidance watch the “how to place a bet video“.  

You can bet and collect at any betting point using cash – and selected areas around the racecourse also offer betting by debit card.

You can even purchase Totepool betting vouchers in advance to use during your day at the races. To order call 01942 617776.

For more information, go to our totepool betting page.

b, On-course bookmakers

Independent bookmakers are located in the betting rings. Each bookie calculates their own odds for each horse and displays them on an electronic board. It’s fun to shop around to get the best price for your horse!

On-course bookmakers and Plumpton recognise how important your betting experience is, and have designed a Customer Service Charter to help ensure that customers receive the level of customer service that they expect and deserve. Plumpton Bookmakers who have agreed to the terms of the Charter will display a gold flag on their boards so you can easily recognise them.

This is a voluntary code – if you want to experience the level of customer service that the racecourses believe that you deserve then please look out for the gold flag.

The gold flag logo signifies that the Bookmaker has agreed to the following:

Service Levels

1. Make all customers feel welcome and deal with them politely and efficiently and answer any questions constructively.

2. Assist inexperienced racegoers, when time allows, and help to educate them on betting and racing.

3. Provide customer service feedback to the racecourse so that the views of racegoers are discussed pro-actively between the bookmakers and racecourses to ensure that the experience of attending a race meeting is an enjoyable one.

Terms of Betting

4. Bet in accordance with the Rules of Betting as published by the Tattersalls Committee. In particular, bookmakers will clearly display if they are betting win only on a particular race. Where bookmakers accept each-way bets the terms will be (or will be better than):

• Fewer than 5 runners – All to Win
• 5-7 runners – 1/4 odds on place 1-2
• 8 or more runners – 1/5 odds on place 1-2-3
• Handicaps with 12-15 runners – 1/4 odds on place 1-2-3
• Handicaps with 16 or more runners – 1/5 odds on place 1-2-3-4

5. Lay a bet to customers  to lose a minimum of £250 in the Centre Course, £500 in the Grandstand and £1,000 on the Rails.

A bookmaker that signs up to this Charter must adhere to these rules at each race meeting and in respect of each race at a race meeting. A bookmaker cannot select individual races or days on which he/she wishes to abide by the terms of this Customer Charter and must offer the above level of customer service at each race meeting at which they do business.

c, Plumpton Racecourse betfred betting shop

You can bet on all racemeetings in either of the two betting shops at Plumpton. The minimum bet is usually £1.

d, Online bookmakers

You will need a credit or debit card to open an online betting account. Please see the links on this page to a range of online betting websites. Minimum bets and opening balances vary.