Tote to accommodate 30 runners

Phumelela Gaming and Leisure Limited is continually looking for ways to
make the racing experience more attractive and lucrative for TAB bettors.
In this regard the company is delighted to announce that as from Monday 18
August TAB will be able to accommodate 30 runners in all bets as opposed to
the previous number of 20. The major advantage of this innovation is that
TAB will now be able to commingle many more pools with international hosts
than before. In the past, when more than 20 horses ran, TAB had to
administer its own pools. The horses numbered from 20 upwards were grouped
together and all formed part of a single bet. From now on that will no
longer apply and bettors will be able to have a separate bet on every
individual runner.
“This is such an exciting opportunity for South Africans,” explained Vee
Moodley, Executive Director Sports Betting at Phumelela. “Take a race like
the Melbourne Cup, for example. We have had to run our own pools in the
past which have been quite small. Now South African punters will be able to
bet into an Australian Win pool of around R100 million!
“In the past we have missed out on commingling around 200 races a year. By
incorporating 30 runners we will lose maybe just five big races a year. It
will give TAB punters more choices and massive pools to bet into.”
With commingling one has to follow the rules laid down by the host
countries so in the case of UK racing bettors will be able to take Win,
Place, Swinger, Exacta and Trifectas. In Ireland their totes bet on Win,
Place and Exactas.
“Can you imagine what a Trifecta will pay out with 30 runners at the
Cheltenham week,” said Moodley. “Jackpots, Place Accumulators and BiPots
with 30 runners will really make for exciting and attractive dividends.”
The tote system will be up and running for 30-runner fields from Monday 18
August but, of course, the first race with more than 20 runners might only
take place in a couple of weeks’ time. Of course, if a field contains more
than 30 runners, TAB will still run its own pools.

seems like an unnessacary change to the system for so few races.

The risk op destabilising the whole system(seems unstable already) if far higher than the small benefit gained.

seems reckless

are they reprinting all the slips at the TAB centres.

Wow...thirty runners...after we've effectively reduced our fields to about 12... :sick:

Trifecta and quartet will now have about the same number of possible combinations as a slot machine... ...

It has always seemed a bit disappointing to me that punters who successfully 'picked' a performer in a 20+ field had their dividend diluted by the old system. Rather like the dividend reduction that takes place when Tab decides to pay 6 places on a big race.

Sadly this comes at a time of ever shrinking South African fields due to course closures etc., but it should deliver some monster payouts in the big UK sprint handicaps, Grand National etc.