Racing punter turns 52p bet into £12,000 payout in ‘nightmare’ for bookies

A punter has put down a “dream” bet to defy the odds and turn just 52p into a near £12,000 payout.

The unnamed bettor landed seven winners in a remarkable multiple bet across four racecourses on Saturday, producing a windfall of £11,777.04

The punter had placed a 26p each-way eight-fold accumulator with bookmaker William Hill, selecting horses running at Haydock, Kempton, Ascot and Stratford. One horse was withdrawn, but the other seven all won.

The winning run began at Haydock, where Zeus Olympios, backed at 4-1, won the opener before Valiancy struck in the 1m6f handicap. Attention then turned to Kempton, where Five Ways edged the Sirenia Stakes by a nose at 5-1, followed by Caprelo, who powered three lengths clear in the 2m handicap.

Abloom provided the only Ascot success at 11-2, before the bet moved to Stratford’s evening card. Hamlet’s Night stormed home by eight lengths at 5-4, and the final leg, Radharc Na Slaine, clung on by a neck at 4-1 to complete the extraordinary sequence.

The punter had originally included A War Eagle at Haydock, but the horse was withdrawn, reducing the bet to seven legs.

William Hill betting spokesperson Lee Phelps said: “It’s the stuff of punting dreams and bookies’ nightmares for a bettor to turn pennies into thousands, and that’s exactly what happened over the weekend.

“A 26p each-way eight-fold across four Saturday meetings landed, seeing the punter walk away with nearly £12,000.

“This is a remarkable bet that’s shocked our trading team, and we simply have to salute the punter in question.”

An each-way bet is essentially two bets in one and is available to place on most UK betting sites.

Half of the stake is placed on the horse to win, and the other half on the horse to finish in a place, typically in the top three or four, depending on the race and bookmaker’s terms.

If the horse wins, both parts of the bet are paid out; if it only places, the bettor still receives a return, although smaller. In this case, because all the selected horses won, the punter collected on both halves of the bet, magnifying the total payout.