Retired accountant turns £2 bet into £450,000

A retired accountant was celebrating on Friday after a 10p each-way sixfold spread across Lingfield, Doncaster and Newbury landed him a return of £457,067.52.

The punter, who wished to remain anonymous but is said to be a lifelong racing fan from north London, backed seven horses in a bet that totalled £2 and initially gave up on it after Bendomingo finished a well-beaten fourth in the 4.20 at Newbury.

The punter told Ladbrokes, who took the bet: "I checked a couple of the early results on my tablet but then after seeing one of them had lost I thought I might have been on only for a couple of places, so I didn't bother to see how the rest of the horses had got on."

In fact, the previous four – Monfass (12-1), Dinsdale (6-1), Pearl Spectre (10-1), Boater (15-2) – had won, and after Wishicould (14-1) and McVicar (12-1) also came in, so too did the monster payout, unbeknown to him.

The punter added: "The next thing I knew someone from Ladbrokes was phoning me to congratulate me for winning nearly half a million quid and to ask how I'd like the money. I had no idea what he was talking about.

"I was completely speechless, and I think it's going to take a few days to sink in properly."

Over the moon

He added: "I'm not sure how I'll spend the money but my son and two daughters and eight grandchildren will all get a share."

He also told of his career as a punter, saying: "I've followed racing all my life since my uncle taught me how to bet 50 years ago. He's not here any more but he's the first person I'll be thanking.

"I pick seven or eight horses a day, mainly going with ones I'm familiar with and have backed before, but I can't say there's any particular reason for choosing these. I won £28,000 20 years ago and £600 recently, but this obviously tops the lot and I'm over the moon."

Ladbrokes said the win was the biggest they had paid out on racing this year and that their best odds guaranteed concession cost them £228,000 in this instance, as final winner McVicar had initially been selected at 13-2, far shorter than his 12-1 SP.

The road to riches

1.50 Doncaster, Monfass 12-1 won

2.10 Newbury, Dinsdale 6-1 won

3.40 Lingfield, Peal Spectre 10-1 won

4.10 Lingfield, Boater 15-2 won

4.20 Newbury, Bendomingo lost

4.55 Newbury, Wishicould 14-1 won

5.05 Doncaster, Mcvicar 12-1 won

10p each-way sixfold, return £457,067.52