SCOTS £50M PUNT
BOOKIES are predicting a £50million weekend of betting thanks to the Scottish Grand National and the Old Firm Scottish Cup semi-final.
They say it’s lining up to be their biggest weekend of the year as punters turn to the horse racing today and the Celtic v Rangers match at Hampden tomorrow.
David Stevens, from bookmakers Coral, said: “The Coral Scottish Grand National is one of the biggest races of the year in betting terms, with only the Aintree Grand National, Cheltenham Gold Cup and Epsom Derby higher in terms of turnover.
“And this year it will be followed by a huge Old Firm cup semi-final the following day so this promises to be a massive weekend for Scottish punters, with more than £50million bet over the two days.”
Scots were among some of the big winners in the Grand National as they backed Kinross-shire-bred winner One For Arthur ridden by Derek Fox.
Coral are tipping the jockey to make it a double at the Scottish Grand National today at Ayr.
David said: “Two weeks ago One For Arthur was a hugely popular winner for Scotland in the Aintree National, and winning jockey Derek Fox has an excellent chance of completing a double on Seldom Inn, trained by Berwickshire-based Sandy Thomson, while last year’s winner Vicente is another leading contender.”
Rangers are priced at 11-2 to block Celtic’s march to the treble, while Celtic are 1-2 favourites. Coral are giving 5-2 for a draw.
In the other semi-final today – Aberdeen v Hibs – Coral have placed Aberdeen at 10-11 favourites and gave 3-1 for a Hibs win and 5-2 for a draw.