Irish and German Derbies to make World Pool debut

World Pool, the largest globally commingled horse racing pools created and powered by the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC), will be in operation at both the Irish and German Derbies for the first time on Sunday 2 July.

The Deutsches Derby marks the first time World Pool has operated in Germany and will see Germany’s richest race offered to bettors in 28 countries two hours before World Pool also makes its Irish Derby debut at the Curragh on the same day.

The Irish Derby Day card will be World Pool’s first meeting at the Curragh and the third ever Irish World Pool fixture, following the 2021 and 2022 Irish Champions Day meetings from Leopardstown.

Both races are historic contests for the Classic generation, with the Deutsches Derby being first staged in 1869 and the Irish Derby having over 150 years of history, and World Pool offers racing fans from around the globe an exciting chance to get involved.

World Pool will be in operation for only the Deutsches Derby from Hamburg, while all eight races on the Irish Derby Day card from the Curragh will be World Pool events.

There will be six World Pool bet types available on the Irish and German cards – Win, Place, Quinella, Quinella Place (Swinger), Forecast (Exacta) and Tierce (Trifecta) – while the Irish Derby card will also feature the Treble (pick the winner in three selected races) bet type.

The World Pool Moment of the Day will be offered at the Curragh, with a prize of €4,000 awarded to the groom of the chosen winner, as well as being entered into the World Pool Moment of the Year to win a VIP trip to Hong Kong.

Sam Nati, Head of Commingling at the Hong Kong Jockey Club, said: “The various international Derbies carry particular importance in Hong Kong across various stakeholder categories. These include racing fans, wagering customers and owners, so the German and Irish Derbies are an important addition to the World Pool schedule.”

Brian Kavanagh, Chief Executive Officer, The Curragh Racecourse, said: “The Curragh is the home of flat racing in Ireland and we are honoured that the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby has been selected as a Tote World Pool meeting for the first time. We are greatly looking forward to Sunday’s card which is full of quality and competitive racing.”

Jason Morris, HRI Director of Racing and Strategic Projects, said: “Horse Racing Ireland is delighted to be welcoming a second World Pool Day to Ireland and is extremely grateful to the Hong Kong Jockey Club for its growing coverage of Irish racing, which will now showcase to an even wider international audience the feature Classic of the Irish Flat racing calendar.

“The Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby is the highlight of an extremely competitive card featuring four Black Type races and four Premier Handicaps. The financial benefits that will flow from being a World Pool event have allowed HRI and the Curragh racecourse to boost prize money significantly for the day with €1.97 million on offer, an overall increase of €425,000 on last year, and with every race worth at least €100,000.”

Gerhard Schoeningh, Chairman of German Gallop Racetracks Association (BGG GmbH), said: “As in all major racing nations, the Derby is the race everyone wants to win. This makes it hugely competitive, and it regularly attracts the largest field of all German Group 1 races.

“German breeders are renowned for their excellent stock particularly over middle distances – five of our seven Group 1 races are run over the Derby distance. We are delighted to be part of World Pool for the first time and proud to share the excitement of this great race with fans all over the world.”