A New Zealand punter miraculously selected the correct finish order for The TAB Everest from first to last – and won nearly NZ$10 million on Saturday.
The win equates to approximately R111 million!
The punter correctly selected the placings of all 12 sprinters in The TAB Everest won by Think About It in a free competition open to all NZ TAB account holders.
Think About It banks the lifechanger! (Pic – Randwick)
The odds of selecting the exact finishing order is believed to be nearly 500 million to one.
The Auckland-based punter, who requested anonymity after his life-changing win, told the NZ Herald he saw the promotion on the NZ TAB website and decided to “give it a crack”.
“I didn’t put too much thought into my picks and just dropped the runners where I thought it could go,’’ he said.
“Honestly, I could not believe I’d won it. I actually thought it was a hoax when they first rang me – I called the TAB back, and it took quite a lot of convincing before it sank in.
“To have pulled it off, winning NZ$10 million in a free to play competition, is truly incredible for my family and I.”
The Everest, the world’s richest race on turf with prizemoney of $20 million, was won by favourite Think About It from I Wish I Win and Private Eye.
The placegetters were the top three in the betting so the punter was playing it safe selecting that trio but getting the next nine runners in order was an extraordinary feat.
Godolphin duo In Secret and Cylinder ran fourth and fifth followed by Hawaii Five Oh (sixth), Espiona (seventh), Buenos Noches (eighth), Shinzo (ninth), Overpass (10th), Mazu (11th) and Alcohol Free (12th).
The odds of correctly choosing first to 12th in The Everest is exactly one in 479,001,600.
The Everest Mega Millions promotion with its $NZ10 million ($A9.2 million) prize pool was designed by NZ TAB to raise awareness in that country of the rich Randwick race particularly with New Zealand-bred sprinter I Wish I Win one of the leading chances.
I Wish I Win, trained by Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman, raced in the Everest slot of NZ TAB and its partner, Entain.
The NZ TAB promotion was free to account holders but limited to one entry per person.
It is understood NZ TAB and Entain took out insurance for the promotion in the unlikely event a punter did select the 12 Everest runners in finishing order.
Cameron Rodger, the managing director of Entain New Zealand which operates NZ TAB, said for a punter to take home the huge prize is “an amazing result”.
“The Everest is the world’s richest race on turf and this customer has managed to take home more than the winner’s purse by pulling off one of the most impressive selecting feats we have ever seen,’’ Rodger said.
“The race had over 400 million possible finish results, and he managed to nail the exact one needed. We’re thrilled with the customer engagement this innovative competition was able to generate and a huge congratulations to our winner.”
