MOST experts and professional pundits made the point beforehand that, while Tiger Roll had carried all before him of late, he could not possibly be value at 4/1 and a short price like that must highlight tempting possibilities elsewhere in the market.

The first part is a matter of opinion but the second amounts to hazy idealism. Just because one horse is clearly the likeliest winner and priced up accordingly, it doesn’t follow that there are bound to be attractive alternatives.

In a 40-runner field last week, three-quarters of the runners were packed in between 25/1 and 66/1 and the bookies bet to 163%. Prices like 50/1 and 66/1 sound terrific until you realise how many of them start at those prices, which all add up when you have a 4/1 favourite taking a large chunk of the market.

The racing press was balanced in its reporting of the betting outcome, pointing out that Paddy Power actually claimed to have made a profit on the race. However, the Betway spokesman said that the ‘quarter of a billion pound bombshell’ had landed, thereby costing the industry £250m.

EXAGGERATION

If they said £25m, it would probably be an exaggeration. But I loved this: “Tiger Roll has gone back-to-back and inflicted the most expensive result in Grand National history. People have been backing this horse since he got his head in front here last year and he’ll go down as the greatest ever result for punters. It was always going to come down to the National and we’ve been wiped out.”

Well, as far as I know, Betway have still been trading this week. As for people backing the horse since last year’s win, I don’t know anyone apart from racing colleagues who mention the National, far less bet on it, for about 363 days between times. But, it’s probably in bookmakers’ interests to persuade the public that they’ve taken a hit in the most popular race of the year. However, it is more than likely that if there were even the remotest chance of losing £250m, they wouldn’t bet on it at all.