I went to the races on a bus and won £1.4m with £2 bet
HEATING engineer Steve Whiteley fancied a day at the races with some friends so he hopped on a bus...and became a millionaire.
Hours after placing a £2 Tote Jackpot bet he scooped £1,445,671 by correctly picking all six winners on the card.
And the triumph was all the sweeter after he endured a nerve-shredding final race – where his selection was a horse that had not won in more than two dozen races, ridden by a female jockey who had only ever won a point-to-point.
Mr Whiteley, 61, went to the Exeter meeting – using his bus pass – with some mates “with the idea of having a few bets and going on the lash’’.
But with four successive wins, including two at odds of 16-1, Mr Whiteley was seeing off the professional betting syndicates who had hoped to land the rollover Tote Jackpot. Then, with his selection Lundy Sky (5-1) getting the better of odds-on favourite Glitzy D’Ocala in the penultimate race, the whole bet was down to just Mr Whiteley’s ticket.
ith the idea of having a few bets and going on the lash
His sixth and final selection was the 12-1 shot Lupita.
The horse had failed to win in 28 starts over hurdles and was ridden by Jessica Lodge who had yet to triumph in a proper race.
“I liked her name Lodge, though. That’s why I went for it,’’ explained Mr Whiteley, who lives with his partner Jill, 53, in North Tawton, Devon.
And, as well as his knack for names, he had brought a four-leafed clover to the races with him. Still shaking after Lupita romped home to turn him into an instant millionaire, Mr Whiteley said: “I’m not a racing man, I’m a heating engineer – well, I was.”
His winners were; Semi Colon 2-1, Black Phantom 12-1, Ammunition 16-1, Mr Bennett 16-1, Lundy Sky 5-1, Lupita 12-1.