Grand National punter wins £900,000 on single bet as 'numb' bookies refuse instant payment

Ed Griffiths
Sun, 12 Apr 2026 07:52:06 +0000

A racegoer walked away from Aintree nearly £1million richer yesterday after placing a staggering six-figure wager on I Am Maximus to triumph in the Grand National.

The punter staked £100,000 on the Willie Mullins-trained horse at odds of 8-1, securing a total return of £900,000 when the 10-year-old crossed the finish line ahead of the field.

Paul Townend rode the JP McManus-owned gelding to victory, beating Iroko by two-and-a-half lengths with Jordans finishing third.

The bet was placed with on-course bookmaker Fitzwilliam Sports before the 4pm race, with the horse subsequently shortening to 9-2 favourite by the time the field set off.

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Fitzwilliam Bookmakers confirmed the wager represented the largest they had ever accepted.

Johnny Dineen, who was fronting the firm's pitch at the Merseyside course, spoke to ITV Racing before the race about the extraordinary stake.

He told the broadcaster: "We've laid a whopping bet on I Am Maximus, and it's the biggest bet we've ever laid by a mile."

The revelation left ITV presenter Brian Gleeson stunned.

He responded: "Oh my God. One hundred thousand at 8/1. That's what you call a proper bet."

Dineen acknowledged the potential consequences before the race began, noting: "It goes without saying it would be a bad result for us!"

The victory cemented I Am Maximus's place in racing history as the first horse to reclaim the Grand National crown since the legendary Red Rum achieved the feat in the 1970s.

The bay gelding had previously won the world's most famous steeplechase in 2024 before finishing as runner-up last year.

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Saturday's triumph also made I Am Maximus only the sixth horse ever to win the race twice.

Adding to the achievement, he became the first horse to carry top weight to victory since Red Rum's era.

The 10-year-old stayed on strongly after clearing the final fence, pulling clear of his rivals to secure the historic double.

Michael Gannon, a colleague of Dineen at Fitzwilliam, spoke to the Liverpool Echo following the race and admitted the result had left him feeling "numb."

The bookmaker revealed the firm had taken immediate steps to protect itself from the substantial loss.

Gannon explained: "We will have to work around it so we don't go into liquidation, and that is what we've done."

He confirmed the winning punter would receive their payout on Monday morning rather than collecting at the course.

When asked whether the successful gambler would face any restrictions on future bets, Gannon was emphatic: "No, no, no. We have a relationship with the person who had the bet. We play a big boys game, and we will keep kicking."