The history of horse racing betting is longer than you might think. It all started in England in 1928 when Winston Churchill passed the Race Betting Act.
Then, for the first time, bettors could pick their favourite horses and jockeys with peace of mind by accessing fully legalized betting pools.
Now, with sites like Betway, it’s possible to check current Cheltenham Festival racing odds for all the major events that are continually updated along with horses’ names, age, and weight. This makes it much easier for bettors to get a quick overview of the situation, and find an opportunity for a big win.
And some of the wins are, in fact, huge. Sports betting is one of the fastest-growing industries that will be worth between $7 bn and $8 bn around the world within the next five years.
With so much money floating around in the system, it’s no wonder that a few bettors throughout history were able to make a fortune by betting on a lucky horse.
£823,000 for a £19 bet
In 2017 a punter from Leicester won a staggering £823,000 by placing a small £19 bet. The lucky winner in his 40s, who wished to remain anonymous, described the morning of the win as “the realization of a lifetime dream.”
He put an accumulator bet on five horses running at Punchestown Racecourse, but he didn’t realize how lucky he was until late in the evening when he checked the results. However, it’s important to note that the winner had been placing bets for around 20 years before finally hitting it big.
£1.2 million from a £50 bet
Conor Murphy spent all of his life working with horses. He didn’t bet that often but in December 2011, he put an accumulator bet on five horses that were performing exceptionally well and belonged to the stable of Murphy’s boss, Mr. Henderson.
He placed a £50 bet on all five horses even though the odds were against him. Amazingly enough, all five placed first in their respective events. This allowed him to turn his small bet into a fortune of £1.2 million and change his life forever.
£182,567 from £2 bet
In 2019, a punter on his way to the prestigious Cheltenham Festival won £182,567.80 with a tiny £2 bet.
He selected only a single horse in each of the six opening races and was able to get a massive payout despite having only four winners.
The lucky winner who wished to remain anonymous said: “My daughter is soon to go to university, so that will help, and my son is going on holiday – I think I will be upgrading him to first class.”
£680,000 from a £5 bet
This is the biggest horseracing win in Scottish history, and it resulted from a tiny £5 bet. It all happened in 2018 on the same day as the winner’s birthday.
He placed four bets on eight selections. One of them, an £0.05 eightfold, won a total of £203,969.39 which became the highest return for this type of stake in history. The punter wished to remain anonymous, but his life surely changed forever after such an incredible win.
There is no better feeling than learning that you just hit a racing bet, especially if you know that your return will be huge. I hope that by reading the unique stories above, you found a little bit of inspiration to enquire further about how to bet more successfully. Perhaps you can give it a try during events like the Cazoo ST Festival or Kempton.
After all, it’s not luck that plays a role here, but rather your intricate knowledge of all the moving parts that can potentially affect the outcome of a race.
