In the world of
sports betting, there is always a punter ready to take the long odds and bet on the unlikely. More often than not, this results in the punter losing his bet and everyone continuing about their lives. However, every now and again the long odds pay off and the impossible happen.
Below are five of the most unlikely long-odds bets in sports betting history and staggering winning amounts they resulted in.
Dettori’s Magnificent Seven – Horse Racing
On 28 September 1996, Italian horse racing jockey Frankie Dettori was set to ride in all seven races at Ascot Racecourse. The odds of Dettori winning all seven were an astronomical 25,000-1. The staggering odds put most punters off. Darren Yeats was however, undeterred. Placing the bet in secret, after promising his wife he would stop betting on Dettori, Yeats wagered £59 that the jockey would win all seven. Astonishingly Dettori would do just that and Yeats walked away at the end of the day with £550,000 in winnings.
Xabi Luton Town Goal – Soccer
After a winning bet, many a fantastical story of how the bet came to be has been concocted. Whether or not this is how it happened, in 2006 Adrian Hayward claims to have had a vivid dream of Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso scoring a goal from within his own half. So vivid was the dream that Hayward placed a bet on Xabi achieving the feet sometime during the season at odds of 125-1. During an FA Cup tie against second division Luton Town, the Liverpool midfielder scored an open goal from his own half after the Luton Town goalkeeper had come up in an attempt to score a late equalizer. Hayward pocketed an amazing £25,000 from his unlikely bet.
A Father’s Bet – Golf
In 2014, Rory McIlroy won the British Open at Royal Liverpool by two strokes. Although it was a huge win for the Irish golfer, it was also a big day for his father, Gerry McIlroy. In 2004, Gerry had placed a £200 bet at odds of 500-1 that within 10 years, his son would win the Open. The father’s faith in his son was paid in full in 2014 with Gerry walking away with £100,000.
The Foxes Fairytale – Soccer
The English Premier League has been dominated by four clubs since it was founded in 1992. Prior to the 2015-16 season, only five clubs had won the league and only four of them had won it more than once. During the 2014-15 season Leicester City (also known as the Foxes) had finished at fourteenth on the table with less than half the total points of the winners, Chelsea. As a result, coming into the 2015-16 season, not much was expected from the club.
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Despite the odds, an optimistic fan from Warwickshire placed a £50 bet on the unlikely happening. As we now know, the Foxes pulled off the impossible and became only the sixth team to ever win the league. The fan from Warwickshire however got skittish in the last few weeks of the season and took an early pay out of £72,000. Had he stayed in until the end, he would have pocketed £178,000.
Hamilton’s Go-Kart – Formula 1
In 1998, Richard Hopkins saw a young Lewis Hamilton racing go-karts and was impressed. So convinced of Hamilton’s talent, Hopkins placed a bet that Hamilton would win an F1 crown before the age of 25. He placed £100 bet at odds of 500-1. Shortly after, Hopkins again bet on the young driver’s future placing a £200 bet at odds of 200-1 that Hamilton would win his first Grand Prix by the age of 23. He then doubled down and placed a £50 bet at odds of 1,500-1 that both of his predictions would be correct. His faith in the young driver would, in 2008 be proven correct when Hamilton won the F1 Championship at age 23 netting Hopkins £165,000.
Place your own long-odds bet
At Betway, you can place your own long-odds bet on many of the sports we offer. For example, why not bet on an underdog winning the next English Premier League title, or a rookie driver taking on Hamilton, Bottas and Verstappen in the next Grand Prix? To get started, simply
register a new account, make your first deposit and use your USh 200,000 welcome bonus to place your long-odds bet.
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