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Whilst the majority of Grand National bets are small and based on random strategies, the history of this great horserace has thrown up a few examples of bets famous for making a punter rich. Other bets have become famous just by virtue of being placed at all. Here are a few of the most notorious Grand National bets and snippets of Grand National trivia.
The Biggest Win
In 2003 a bingo club owner by the name of Mike Futter landed one of the biggest Grand National bets of all time when he placed £10,000 at 50/1 on his horse Monty’s Pass. Incredibly Monty’s Pass, carrying 10 stone, thundered to victory, adding £500,000 in winning bets to Mike Futter’s £260,000 winner’s purse.
Almost Supernatural
Supernatural intervention almost won Judy Higby one of the most unlikely Grand National bets in history. In early 1993 the St. Albans resident was visited by a premonition that the 1993 Grand National would not take place at all.
She approached a bookie to place a bet on the race’s cancellation, but the bookie thought this was so unlikely that he refused to accept her Grand National bet. Higby was unimpressed when the 1993 Grand National was declared void after a false start.
The Headmaster
One of the more bizarre Grand National bets played out in 1983 when a headmaster from Liverpool took bets from parents at his school that he could complete the Grand National course at Aintree without a horse. The headmaster performed as promised, taking 40 minutes to clear all the jumps on the course and collecting £6,000 in Grand National bets. In doing so he broke the record for a human transit of Aintree Racecourse by 20 minutes.
Luck of the Irish
In 1875 amateur jockey Thomas Pickernell won the Grand National on Pathfinder. This achievement earned him a place of honour in the annals of Grand National trivia due to the fact that he achieved this win despite being so drunk that he started the race with his horse facing in the wrong direction.
A Murky Win
One of the most controversial races in the history of Grand National trivia took place in 1947 when the race was run in such thick fog that eventual winner Caughoo was reported to have sneaked through to a win by running only one circuit of Aintree racecourse.
Foinavon
In 1967 100-1 outsider Foinavon offered one of the biggest returns on Grand National bets in the history of the race when he exploited a massive pile up on the first lap to win the race by several lengths. Foinavon’s chances in the race had been considered so slim that his owner hadn’t bothered to attend the race.
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