Homeless man stunned after winning over $60K on $3 horse race bet: ‘There must be something wrong’
A homeless man in New Zealand has remarkably won $62,712 USD from a $3 bet on the Melbourne Cup.
The man from Wellington, New Zealand — who is only known by his first name Robert — placed the bet at the Petone Working Men’s Club the day before the race, not knowing that the small wager on the nearly $5 million Cup, won by Without A Fight, would turn his life upside down.
Robert checked his account after the race, and had to look twice when he noticed five extra zeros next to his account balance.
“It was quite, quite an emotional process, mate,” he told the NZ Herald, understandably gobsmacked by the result.
“I couldn’t believe it, and I thought to myself, ‘there must be something wrong here’.”
Robert investigated further before realizing that it was no mistake, with a green tick next to his $3 first four easy bets and $62,712 in winnings.
It was a result that could see Robert turn his life around, and that’s the way he intends to spend the money, after enduring the last nine months living in a garage.
“I’ve gone from being homeless, sitting in a garage to finally being able to afford a deposit on a house now,” he said.
Due to privacy reasons TAB was unable to disclose further details of the wager.
Robert watched the race at the Petone Working Men’s Club with friends, as Mark Zahra piloted $8 chance Without A Fight to Melbourne Cup glory for Anthony and Sam Freedman, securing Zahra’s second win in as many years in the race that stops the nation.
Without A Fight’s victory marks the first time in 22 years that a horse has won the Caulfield and Melbourne Cup double, after Ethereal completed the feat in 2001.
