One lucky man is £2,000 richer after accidently wagering £200 ($248USD) instead of £20 ($25USD) on the 170th Randox Health Grand National at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England.
Thirty-eight-year-old Alex Blackwell, a freelance journalist from of Kibworth, said he would never intentionally place a bet for £200, an amount he described as “crazy,” according to the Mirror. The lucky winner said he mistakenly added the extra zero to his £20 on Friday, the night before the annual National Hunt horse race was held.
Blackwell, fortunately, put his money on One For Arthur, an eight-year-old trained in Kinross that became only the second Scottish winner in the history of the Grand National, first run in 1839. The 16-1 wager was placed on the Bet365 website and Blackwell didn’t realize his mistake until after the race was over and he checked his bet.
Blackwell, who said he normally spends between £30 and £40 on a few Grand National bets every year, told the Mirror, “My immediate thought after the race was, I hope I bet on One For Arthur. I looked straight away, as soon as the horse crossed the line.” He said when he reviewed the wager he saw that he had bet £200 on the race.
Blackwell said he ended up winning £2,200 ($2,736USD) and felt fortunate because he didn’t intend on wagering that much on the race. A “win and each way” bet, he wagered £100 for a win and an additional £50 each way on the horse.
The Grand National is a handicap steeplechase over 4 miles 514 yards (6.907 km) with horses seven-years-old and up jumping 30 fences over two laps. The prize fund this year was £1 million ($1.24 million USD); it is the most valuable jump race in Europe.
Jockey Derek Fox rode One For Arthur who was sent off at 14-1 and managed to out-jump and outlast his 39 rivals in the race that began with two false starts and ended in a dramatic finish. The horse was trained by Lucinda Russell, who became only the fourth woman to train a National winner.