A GIANT £82,000 horse racing bet placed at the last minute ended horribly for one big-spending punter.

But the mammoth wager turned out to be a dream for rival bettors after it massively inflated the price of the eventual winner.

Mystery suurounds the identity of the gambler who stuck five figures on an otherwise unremarkable race in Japan on Thursday.

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With just seconds until the off, the huge sum was lumped on 20-1 outsider North Luciole.

The effect of the wager meant the horse's odds fell through the floor before the off, going from longshot to even money favourite.

But the horse ran nothing like a big fancy, never threatening the lead and eventually finishing outside the places in fourth.

Some £82,000 gone, just like that.

But the massive punt lit up social media and some eagle-eyed followers online speculated the huge bet could actually have been a mistake.

North Luciole was listed next to pre-race favourite I'll Be The One on betslips, leading punters to believe the bettor simply picked the wrong horse.

I'll Be The One went onto win – and those who backed it in the pool betting found themselves on the right side of a scarcely believable piece of luck.

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Despite being around a 2-1 shot in the fixed odds betting, the £82,000 dropped on North Luciole took place in the pools.

That meant I'll Be The One's odds for punters there sky-rocketed to 156-1, so a £5 bet on the win would have landed a £785 return.

Amazingly, this massive loser is nowhere near the biggest in recent weeks.

American mattress salesman Jim McIngvale lost $2.3million – just over £1.6m – on Kentucky Derby favourite Essential Quality.

That punt is believed to be the biggest in US horse racing history.

Essential Quality finished fourth behind controversial winner Medina Spirit – who subsequently failed a drugs test but starts as favourite for Saturday's Preakness.

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Commercial content notice: Taking one of the bookmaker offers featured in this article may result in a payment to The Sun. 18+. T&Cs apply. Begambleaware.org

Remember to gamble responsibly

A responsible gambler is someone who:

• Establishes time and monetary limits before playing
• Only gambles with money they can afford to lose
• Never chase their losses
• Doesn’t gamble if they’re upset, angry or depressed
• Gamcare – www.gamcare.org.uk
• Gamble Aware – www.begambleaware.org

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