Irish and British totes reach agreement Tote Ireland, in conjunction with the United Kingdom Tote, have announced common pooling between the two operators will now be made available to Irish punters wishing to bet into the British pools, both on-course and through the telebetting service.'This initiative is a result of close co-operation between the two Totalisator operators and will afford Tote punters the opportunity to invest in stronger Tote pools yielding improved Tote dividends, and should prove attractive to Tote Ireland punters wishing to bet into the UK Tote pools at the Cheltenham Festival,' said John White, general manager, Tote Ireland.The Tote`s chief executive John Heaton added: 'The future for common pooling is very bright, and this week we`ll take another major step in developing a market with huge potential.'We have been delighted with the way that tests of the system have gone so far, and providing everything runs smoothly when we trial the system `live` for the first time on Friday and Saturday we can look forward to seeing pools even stronger than usual at next week`s Festival.'The participation of the Irish is integral to the unique atmosphere that is the Cheltenham Festival.'This year with common pooling even those unable to make it over from Ireland to Prestbury Park will have the opportunity to exact their own influence on the Festival by betting into the Tote pools from across the Irish Sea.'Common pooling will be available to Irish Tote punters at selected meetings in the UK from tomorrow and will initially afford punters the opportunity to bet on the win, place and exacta pools at the principal meeting in Britain.
