The Melbourne Cup is billed as ‘The Race That Stops a Nation’ – however, for one lucky Australian punter the contest will now be remembered as the race that made them a millionaire – after scooping an incredible A$3.2m for picking the first four horses home.
Shock 2024 Melbourne Cup Result Wins Aussie Punter Over A$3m In Unbelievable Bet
Winning the Melbourne Cup is the stuff of dreams and this year’s renewal certainly had many.
Not only was it a first win in the race for trainer John Symons and a second for Sheila Laxon (won it in 2001 with Ethereal), it was also a debut success for jockey Robbie Dolan, who was bizarrely also a finalist on Australia’s The Voice – after he guided home outsider KNIGHT’S CHOICE.
But the Melbourne Cup ‘dream’ stories kept coming after the race, with one of these an Aussie punter that managed to win A$3.2m after successfully picking the first four horses home.
Knight’s Choice returned 90/1 with the best horse racing betting sites in the UK. The favourite Buckaroo would only manage 9th and the Willie Mullins-trained Vauban 11th.
2024 Melbourne Cup Result
- 1st – KNIGHT’S CHOICE (Robbie Dolan) – 90/1
- 2nd – Warp Speed (Akira Sugawara) – 25/1
- 3rd – Okita Soushi (Jamie Kah) – 18/1
- 4th – Zardozi (Andrea Atzeni) – 13/1
You can see the full 2024 Melbourne Cup result here.
The unreal wager had a total stake of just A$100 too, which equates to around £50 sterling, and was placed with Ladbrokes online on picking the first four horses to finish.
In a dramatic race, that had many leaders inside the final stages, the lucky horse racing punter wouldn’t have known they had a chance of winning until the very last stages – with Knight’s Choice getting up by just a short-head.
Ladbrokes told Racing.com “They boxed Knight’s Choice, Warp Speed, Okita Soushi and Zardozi and have turned their A$100 investment into A$3.2 million, which is already in their Ladbrokes account.
“The customer initially thought they had won A$780,000, so you can imagine their surprise when the full dividend was revealed. It’s a life-changing result and shows that anything can happen in the Melbourne Cup.”
The 2024 Melbourne Cup trifecta dividend on the Melbourne Cup was A$22,576.80 (£11,506.16), while the exacta dividend returned A$1,986.80 (£1,012.59).
WATCH: Knight’s Choice Winning The 2024 Melbourne Cup
Bet Also Wins Punter Wins Almost As Much As The Winning Horse
With the 2024 Melbourne Cup prize money standing at A$4.4m for the winning horse, this monster bet of A$3.2m also means they were only A$1.2m off what the successful connections of Knight’s Choice won.
Knight’s Choice is owned by C A Bain, Mrs K J Waldron and R A Waldron.
The winning jockey Robbie Dolan will also walk away with appox. 5% of the winning purse – around £117k. While the winning trainer will get roughly 10% – £234k.
