Couple's failsafe betting system fails

A married couple took almost £47,000 in cash to back every dog at a greyhound track but what they thought to be a foolproof strategy turned out to have a crucial flaw. The pair, in their 50s, were hoping to scoop a British record breaking greyhound jackpot of £101,110.39p at Sheffield's Owlerton Stadium.

They travelled hundreds of miles from the south coast of England with their stake money and what they believed to be a fail-safe plan.

The unnamed punters placed £46,656 in bets to cover every possible placing of six dogs in six races, using cash they brought in a Tesco carrier bag.



But the couple had not bargained on two other ticketholders backing all six winners and the jackpot being split three ways. It meant that their share of £33,703.46 left them with a net loss of around £13,000.

John Gilburn, Owlerton's managing director, said: "The couple arrived at the track before racing saying they wanted to play all the permutations on the jackpot and produced a Tesco carrier bag stuffed full of money.

"We took them into the cash room and it took us an hour to complete the count. I don't know if they were part of a syndicate or what, but when they came for their money they were very, very philosophical about the situation."