$1,000,000 single bet on makybe diva

Punter places $1m Cup bet

October 30, 2005
A MYSTERY punter has placed a $1 million bet on Makybe Diva to win the Melbourne Cup tomorrow.

Bookie Michael Sullivan of Sportingbet, who took the wager yesterday, stands to lose $3 million if the champion mare, who is the $4 favourite on TAB fixed odds, creates history to win the Cup for an unprecedented third successive year.

It is the biggest individual bet in a Melbourne Cup since Kerry Packer's famous forays a decade a ago.

"We were negotiating for a while but the punter was insistent he wanted a $3 million to $1 million," Mr Sullivan said.

"I thought about the risks involved, but took the bet. This is the job after all."

Mr Sullivan would not reveal the identity of the punter.

He is famous for taking a $5 million bet on champion Lonhro when the horse was beaten in his farewell race at Randwick last year.

Punters are expected to wager more than $100 million on the Melbourne Cup tomorrow with $25 million of those bets to go on Makybe Diva.

But trainer Lee Freedman has warned Makybe Diva will not run if the Flemington Track is too hard tomorrow.