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Many of us know the feeling of missing out by one all too well! Whether it's a 100/1 football accumulator taken down by a last-minute equaliser or a bet on the horses, where an underdog steams up the straight to chin your horse on the line - it never feels nice!
However, missing by one on the lotto has to be the gold medal of close calls, particularly with the large odds for those that manage to land all the correct numbers. Betfred has a special Missed By One offer on its Irish Lotto, 49's, and Nifty Fifty draws, for just that occasion.
Place a 4-ball or 5-ball bet on any of the above draws and you can get great odds at Betfred. With Betfred’s ‘Missed by One’ Offer, if you manage to land three out of four balls or four out of five balls, your stake will be refunded to you as a free bet (up to a maximum of £10). See full terms and conditions.
It got us thinking...what have been the most memorable near-misses in sports betting history?
Here are a few that came to mind:
It was looking like a dark day for the bookies! Annie Power was poised to complete coupons worth millions of pounds to the punter. All they needed was for the highly-fancied Annie Power (that went off a short-priced favourite) to clear the last hurdle, and she would storm home in the Mares' Hurdle - completing Yankees, Lucky 15s, and accumulators galore. Inexplicably, she appeared to mistake the hurdle's shadow for the actual obstacle, jumping too early before nose-diving into the turf. The groan that galloped around Cheltenham's grandstand was echoed around the country.
Back in 2019, one American punter managed to predict 19 of their 20-team parlay correctly - all they needed was for the Washington Redskins to beat the Chicago Bears on the last game of the weekend - otherwise known as Monday Night Football!
Unfortunately, the Bears gobbled up the dream when they dismantled the Redskins 31-15!
Here's hoping he hedged!
In 2014, all was not well at Manchester United. A title-winning team in 2013, they were sliding into the middle of the table, losing and drawing games against teams they should have beaten.
One punter had predicted the Red Devils' struggles to continue in the FA Cup and bet on them to draw at Old Trafford with Swansea - the last result of a 15-leg accumulator. The previous 14 results were in the bag - a correct outcome would yield a whopping £187,0000. It all rested on United. Incredibly, they were 1-1 with 89 minutes on the clock - but the riches were snatched away in the final moments by Wilfried Bony, who scored a last-minute winner.
At ComparetheLotto.com we think Betfred’s ‘Missed by One’ Deal on the Irish Lotto, 49’s and Nifty Fifty Numbers Games is a useful offer in the event you do just miss out.
As always, we want to remind our users to please only ever bet what you can afford to lose.