The Cheltenham Festival is one of the most popular horse racing events in the world. It is a four-day festival that takes place annually in March and gets together thousands of people. This horse racing festival provides the second biggest prize money in the racing calendar.
But, this horsing event is also rewarding many generous prizes to the punters that are betting on the horse racing events. In this article, we will reveal and describe the biggest sums wagered at the Cheltenham Festival.
What Are the Biggest Sums Wagered at Cheltenham Festival?
As you may know, the Cheltenham Festival is the biggest horse racing event for sports bettors. Every year, during a period of just 4 days, the punters are wagering millions on their favourite horses.
Nowadays, most of the bets placed on the horse racing events that take place at the Cheltenham Festival are conducted by an online bookmaker.
One bookmaker has estimated that its bettors have spent around £500 million during the Cheltenham Festival in 2021. And that is only one sportsbook that offers horse racing betting. Now imagine how much bet money is received in total during the entire Cheltenham Festival.
Statistic information provided by the featured sportsbook reveals that the £500 million income was an increase of 23% compared to 2020. It was also a 53% increase in the bettors’ activity during the Cheltenham Festival.
An average of £8.22 per bet on the win and each-way markets were wagered during the famous horse racing event.
It is worth noting that some bettors have also placed certain free bets that are offered by betting sites, which are also calculated in the total sum.
If you are interested in such a bonus, you should know that there is a William Hill Cheltenham Festival offer for new customers up for grabs. Bookmakers’ new customer offers provide a great opportunity for individuals to try out a new betting platform and experience its features and odds. Additionally, these offers often provide extra value, such as enhanced odds, free bets, or deposit bonuses, which can increase the potential returns on a bet. By taking advantage of new customer offers, bettors can potentially increase their winnings and have a more enjoyable betting experience.
Another has recorded an incredible 25,000 bets per minute during this horse racing festival. One of five bettors have backed Tipperary jockey Blackmore to once again repeat her record-breaking week in 2021.
Below we will mention some of the most impressive sums ever placed and won in this horse racing events.
A £100,000 Bet for a to Win of £600,000
In 2006 at the Cheltenham Festival, the well-known John P. McManus, and Irish businessman and thoroughbred owner, decided to place a bet. He was there for the third day of the festival because he had a horse in the first race of the day.
His horse, named Reveillez, was a seven-year-old grey gelding. McManus sought out “Fearless” Freddie Williams for a £100,000 bet on his horse at 6/1 odds.
The race was a two-and-a-half-mile steeplechase over 16 fences, which Reveillez managed to win. Because of that McManus has brought home a stunning sum of £600,000.
£1 Million Acca
A stable lad named Conor Murphy that was working for National Hunt trainer Nicky Henderson struck gold during the 2012 Cheltenham Festival.
In November 2011, 4 months before the start of the event, Murphy decided to place a £50 bet accumulator on five horses that were trained by his boss.
The odds on the accumulator range between 6/1 and 12/1 and were up for a total of £3 million. His bet was very much successful, but the payout policy of the sportsbook has denied him the total sum. Instead, Murphy was paid a total of around £1 million, which is still an enormous sum.
Winning £250,000 in 2021
During the 2021 Cheltenham Festival, Paul Dean, a 40-year-old man from Stockton, Teesside, has become a celebrity in the horse racing world. He managed to win £250,000 on a five-fold despite having the last leg of his bet beaten.
The total price of the £5 horse racing acca after the first four legs were £511,000. Now, he had some thinking to do as the last race was due to take place the following day.
His choices were pretty simple either stick to his initial bet and risk everything or cash out earlier for a total sum of £250,000. Dean choose the second option, which prove to be a good choice as Envoi Allen, the last leg on the wager, failed at the fourth fence.