Betfair Official Blog

That's the mortgage sorted then!

£25,000 winner on the exchange after punter hits the magical 1000 bet

One Betfair punter will be able to pay off his mortgage after having £25 on Captain Crooner, the 14-1 winner of the 12.30 at Southwell on Thursday.

But he won't be paying off a measly installment of £350, he will be able to clear the final 20k-plus off his home loan - as he backed the horse at 999-1 in running on Betfair.

And he demonstrated a cool head in the heat of the moment by ensuring that he couldn't lose whatever happened!

The horse, backed from 16-1 to 14-1 pre-race, traded at the maximum price of 999-1 on the exchange after starting slowly and soon getting detached.

Posting under "Manchesterskytrain" on the Betfair forum immediately after his five-figure coup - so excuse the spelling mistakes and lack of grammar! - the Warrington-based winner explained:

"£25 of it was mine, i can pay my mortgage off now, i am going mental her, my 2nd 1000 winner , i only have £2 on the other, this is by far my biggest win."

"laid it @44 early in the race, just after 1/2 way i wanted out of the bet and asked for £25 all matched at the 1000, i laid it again @80 to make sure i won something on the race, ended up winning just over 20k after commission."

There were also two other Betfair customers who backed the horse at 999-1 and netted just under £3,000 apiece, with one getting £3 matched and the other £2.49.

Betfair spokesman Tony Calvin commented: "I feel justified in trotting out the cliché that Christmas really has come early for three Betfair customers.

"And the punter who had £25 on Captain Crooner at the ceiling price of 999-1 must literally be taking a leaf out of that old songster Lionel Richie's book - and dancing on the ceiling, which he is now soon to own outright!"

* 'Manchesterskytrain' will be live on Betfair Radio at 15:50pm on Friday afternoon to discuss his winning bet at 1000 on Captain Crooner at Southwell yesterday, as outlined on page 3 of the Racing Post today.

If you have any questions for him, please email radio@betfair.com.