Grand National winner costs the Bookies £5m

makers are expecting a £5m payout to Scottish punters after One For Arthur won the Grand National. The outsider was the second victory by a Scottish-trained horse, the last being in 1979.

Whilst the races at Aintree signal what is to be considered the most important weekend for bookmakers in the year, it seems the odds were not with the bookies in 2017 for the Randox Health Grand National.

McBookie.com spokesman, Paul Petrie comments to the BBC: “It was a bad day for Scottish bookmakers but a great day for punters and more importantly Scottish racing.

“It has been a long time since we have celebrated a Scottish winner and although it has cost us a fortune, we couldn’t be more happy for Lucinda Russell.”

Bookmakers were hoping their luck would continue after a successful year at Cheltenham Festival back in March.

William Hill predicted a staggering £225m would be wagered on the biggest horse race of the year, expecting “the highest turnover levels on any weekend in history”. Although William Hill reportedly took approximately £25m on the race, it added that it would most likely have to “give it all back”.

Rupert Adams told the BBC Scotland news: “We had expected this year’s Grand National to be a bit of a money-spinner for us. We won’t know exactly how much we will be paying out until everyone has brought theirs slips in and we have paid out their money, but it looks like we have just about broken even – although we have lost significantly in Scotland.

“The problem is we won’t get the money back because with the Grand National most people only make that one bet a year.