The smart money

A 200 to 1 surprise winner as Maoi Chinn Tire and jockey Alan O'Keeffe win the Weatherbys Bank Wensleydale Juvenile Hurdle during day one of the The bet365 Charlie Hall Meeting at Wetherby Racecourse, Wetherby.

45-1 Mario Vargas Llosa to win the Nobel Prize for Literature | Thu 7th Oct

“We saw more money bet on the contest this year than in its entire history, with most of it going on Ngugi wa Thiong’o and Cormac McCarthy, so Mario Vargas Llosa winning was a godsend. He was initially 45-1 and his victory came right out of the blue.”

7-2 Wayne Rooney to stay at United | Fri 22nd Oct

“On the evening before and on the morning running up to our suspension of the “What will Rooney do next?” market, we had Manchester United in as third favourites behind Manchester City and Real Madrid. Some very large bets were struck in the North West region, and as the momentum moved on, we pulled the market. Almost seconds later, the yellow ticker revealed that he had signed a new five-year contract at United.”

250-1 Chelsea to lose 3-0 at home to Sunderland | Sun 14th Nov

“Arguably one of the biggest shocks in the Premier League era, and the total number of Ladbrokes customers who bet on the correct score equals the total number of goals Sunderland put past a hapless Chelsea side. Three lucky punters bet on this correct scoreline at 250-1, with no bet bigger than £2.50 being struck. The Wearsiders were easy to back at 14-1 on the day and again were virtually friendless in the market. We actually took more money on audacious Chelsea scorelines like 4, 5 and 6-0 than we did on Sunderland to win.”

8-1 Kara Tointon to win Strictly Come Dancing | Sat 18th Dec

“From the moment we saw the line-up in September there was only one favourite for us – Matt Baker. The ‘Countryfile’ presenter was the early “housewives’ favourite” and was listed with odds of 9-4, while Kara was 8-1. As the weeks went on we saw Kara become a great dancer, but we were confident that Matt would get the women voting and on final night he was odds on. But Kara defied the odds – even with a knackered shoulder.”

Posted on Friday, November 3rd, 2023 - Categories: #1 - Oct-Dec 2010, App Issues.