Bookmakers don’t always admit it, but there are certain Sundays where they wake up feeling a little lighter on their feet.
After a Saturday where favourites were rolled across the country, this was one of them.
“It’s fair to say there wouldn’t have been many bookmakers hitting snooze on Sunday morning,” Ponybet CEO Jason Scott said.
“When the jollies are getting tipped out left, right and centre, it usually means we’ve had a day.”
Being a start-up bookmaker means there’s no such thing as a quiet shift. The highs feel higher, the losses sting a little more, and the swings can come by the race, the match – or the minute. Here’s how the weekend played out for Ponybet.
Tennis: Djokovic upset turns the tide
The week had been tricky early thanks to the Australian Open, but a late save in the semi finals avoided a multi strip-out.
“The tennis had been tough for us, no doubt. But Friday night turned it around when Djokovic knocked over Sinner. That result absolutely wiped out a stack of multis, both on the match and in the futures.”
One in particular stood out.
“The most obvious one for us was a six-leg multi – $450 to win $70,000. It had five legs already in and just needed Sinner to win the tournament. When Djokovic got him, that was the end of that.”
Favourites fall on the punt
Saturday on the domestic racing front followed a similar script – shorties beaten and multis falling over.
“The early sign it might be our day was Tony Gollan’s Brindavan getting beaten,” Scott said.
“It opened $2.30 earlier in the week, we were bet $5,000 at $2.20 on Thursday and it was in just about every multi you could imagine. By jump it was $1.50.”
The late money only added to the liability.
“We took $15,000 worth of tote bets and multiple four-figure bets right on the bell. When that got rolled, it set the tone.”
Well-found runners Roselyn’s Star and Cross Tasman were also popular with punters.
“They were the two spruik horses of the day. One customer found them both in a $5,000 double. Roselyn’s Star alone saw $9,000 in tote bets, another clean $5,000, plus plenty of $1,000 and $2,000 bets. They were well and truly in the book.”
It wasn’t a complete whitewash.
“It wasn’t all one-way traffic,” Scott admitted. “Midnite Storm for Ciaron Maher cost us over $39,000, including a $10,000 bet at $3.90. That one hurt.”
There were also a few sharp wagers that landed late in the day.
“One canny punter finished things off nicely with $2,000 on the last winner at Newcastle at $10. That’s the sort of bet that makes you wince.”
Ladies final a result for the bookies
The women’s decider at the Australian Open also landed on the bookmaker side.
“The biggest bet we saw was $5,000 on Sabalenka to win in straight sets at $2.50. That helped, especially with all the men’s final into ladies’ final futures that were floating around.”
Sunday bites back
After the highs of Saturday, Sunday brought things back toward level.
“Sunday was a bit tougher,” Scott said. “We started well and were in front early, but Sale proved a problem.”
Two races in particular did the damage.
“In the sixth we ran into $2,000 at $16 on Lucky Lucky Boom, and in the last we wrote a $10,000 bet at $8.50 on Blue Akoya. Those two swung things around pretty quickly.”
Ponybet also copped a whack from a punter betting at Sha Tin late on Sunday.
“In Hong Kong we took $900 at $23 on Growing Praises in the sixth. That had us basically square on the races for the day.”
And the tennis didn’t provide a late save.
“Alcaraz was no good for us in the tennis, so we ended up a small loser overall on Sunday. After Saturday though, we’re not complaining too much.”
