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US Election Betting: Clinton vs McCain?

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John McCain, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton all take turns as favourite in the space of a few hours during Super Tuesday...

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'Super Tuesday' has revealed two clear winners according to Betfair punters after a volatile night of trading on the markets.

Hillary Clinton - now the [1.72] favourite for the Democrat nomination - and John McCain (the outstanding [1.06] favourite to run for the Republicans) are the most likely to contest the 2008 Presidential election, with Clinton a [2.76] shot to become the first woman in history to take the top job.

But what a difference a few hours make. At midnight GMT, US news channel CNN called Georgia for Clinton's Democrat rival Barack Obama who showed a stronger than expected result. That led to Obama's price on Betfair shortening from [3.05] into [2.36] in the Next President market.

This lead remained strong until Clinton picked up Oklahoma and exit polling started showing strong victories for the former First Lady in Massachusetts and New Jersey. By 0238 GMT Obama had drifted out to [3.75] as Clinton became the front-runner at [2.74], a position she held and strengthened as the night progressed.

John McCain meanwhile won in nine states - including in California - to all but wrap up the Republican nomination. Mike Huckabee ([36.0] for the nomination) won in five states to edge ahead of Mitt Romney ([40.0]) who won in seven states.