Irish billionaire’s $1m Melbourne Cup gamble badly misfires

Point Of Law has won the 2026 Lexus Melbourne Cup, leaving Irish billionaire JP McManus ruing his mammoth $1 million bet on Hopewell Rock, after the heavily backed horse failed to deliver.

The 75-year-old was in for a staggering $9.6m payout but as the horse that shot to favouritism on the back of his huge wager finished in ninth, McManus looked like he’d be leaving Flemington with significantly lighter pockets.

However, a savvy contingency plan provided a silver lining for the billionaire.

Among his many wagers on the 2026 race that added up to $2 million, McManus placed a $235,000 bet on the Ciaron Maher-trained Point of Law at $8.50.

The colt’s impressive victory will have netted McManus a payout of $1,997,500, allowing him to at the very least break even on the feature race.

Point Of Law’s triumph completes an historic masterclass from Maher, who became the first trainer to complete the Melbourne Cup trifecta.

Point of Law was followed past the post by stablemates Zahrann in second and Juja Kibo in third.

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Melbourne Cup winner’s insane finish after horse led by 20 lengths

While Hopewell Rock let down multiple punters, Point Of Law provided massive payouts for those who backed it.

According to Ladbrokes, one punter will now take home $3.09 million after laying $364,000 on the winner at $8.50 odds, while Palmerbet reported another lucky punter picking up a $115,500 payout.

But those who followed McManus into a big splash on Hopewell Rock have taken losses, burned by the gelding’s failure.

One punter torched a half-a-million dollar bet that would have yielded a $5.63 million payout, while a third lost a $160,000 wager that could have returned $1.44 million on the underwhelming favourite.

The full dividends from the 2026 Melbourne Cup (TAB fixed odds):

1st: Point of Law $7.00 (win) / $2.80 (place)

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Melbourne Cup 2026 full finishing order: Where your horse finished in the race

2nd: Zahrann $8.50

3rd: Juja Kibo $4.20

First 4: $50,275.10

Trifecta: $2,644.50

Exacta: $239.60

Quinella: $141.00