Co Down woman made redundant last year wins £38,000 in free Royal Ascot bet
A woman living in Co Down who was made redundant last year has urged others to “have faith” after winning nearly £40,000 on Royal Ascot races from a free bet.
Furthermore, Melanie Burns’ £38,000 grand prize is the second biggest Royal Ascot placepot winner in the last decade.
Melanie, who is originally from Liverpool, recently opened an account with the betting company Tote, which specialises in horse-racing.
She explained that while she never really deposited much money into it, for the last six months, she has tried to remember to do the free placepot bets that the firm offers every week.
The placepot is a gambling market in horse racing that involves backing a selection of horses to place across a particular racecard. To win the placepot via Tote, you just need to have a horse placed in the first six races at any meeting.
Melanie said: “I’ve been trying to remember to do it every Saturday because it’s free, but I’ve never used the account really to put money back in it, so they probably hate me as a punter!
“Because Ascot has been such a gamble and no one’s really won [this year], I just thought on Saturday, ‘Right, I’m just going to bet on names of horses that I like’.”
For example, she bet on anything with the word ‘gold’ in it, with horses Golden Mind and Streets of Gold both coming third respectively in the first two races, and she chose Lion Of War, which came second in the fifth race, all because she has a pet cat — albeit smaller than a lion.
“I then put five pence each way on another betting account and I realised I’d won something because that came back and I got £43,” Melanie added.
“So then I thought, ‘This is good from 10p, I’ll probably get about £90 or something’ because I knew I had all the other races on Tote.
“Then, it took a while to pay it out and when it came up, it said I had won £38,000.”
Through her elation and shock, Melanie now wants to encourage other people to have hope, without having to gamble big.
“It does happen to people, and seriously, it’s never happened to me before. I’m absolutely delighted.
“I had no rhyme or reason, just names of horses I liked. I’m not a big better either.
“I was made redundant last year and I’ve just been helping out with people, cleaning and doing bits and pieces, which I’m still going to do because I like it,” she continued.
“But, the money has given me a bit of a pop now. So, when I’ve decided to finish working, I’ve got something there.”
The 54-year-old noted that horse-racing is something she and her husband, who is Scottish, have only really become interested in since moving to Northern Ireland nine years ago.
“I was never into racing until we got to Northern Ireland. I feel like horse-racing is more of an Irish thing.
“It’s just been a bit of fun for us at the weekend. This story gives me a bit of faith and it really shows that you have to be in it to win it. It was a free bet, I didn’t spend a penny on it.”
Now, the couple are on a mission to visit as many Irish racecourses as they can.
“I love it. My husband’s not long retired and we’re trying to get around every racecourse in Ireland. We’ve done about five now.
“I just think horses are really lovely animals and I’m in awe of what they do. I know they say the favourites will usually win but I do think it’s a gamble every time they go out because I didn’t bet on favourites this weekend. It can happen.”
Melanie continued: “For our wedding anniversary last month, we went to Punchestown [Racecourse].
“There were Tote workers down there telling me to remember to do the placepot bets and I was saying ‘ah, you never win’ and look at me now!
“We already have a holiday planned because it’s my husband’s 60th birthday this year, so the winnings have boosted that fund. The rest of it has helped me sort myself out after being made redundant, so it’s really given us a boost overall.”
