A lifetime punter won the R1 500 000 jackpot bonus in the popular free-to-enter Hollywoodbets Punters’ Challenge when he tipped all eight winners on the Hollywoodbets Greyville Polytrack on Sunday.
The popular challenge, which is also held on Western Cape racing, as well as Hong Kong and Singapore, pits players against each other in the magical quest to find all the winners on a racecard.
The 60-year-old retiree Alan Barkhuizen, despite watching the racing as he does all day every day, was close to speechless when contacted by the Sporting Post late on Sunday afternoon.
“Are you serious? How much did I win? This is crazy,” said the staunch Hollywoodbets customer who plays the free-to-enter competition at every opportunity.
The news that two players were running into the final leg of Sunday’s racemeeting saw racecaller Sheldon Peters add to the excitement, as he upped the ante late, calling Calulo home to round off a nice double for Rachel Venniker and Michael Roberts.
On-course Gallop TV presenter Warren Lenferna also added to the news of the big win, congratulating the winner and Hollywoodbets, bravely putting on a professional cheery face despite having his own Pick 6 toppled in the final leg!
“This is amazing. It is my biggest win in close on a half-century of playing the horses! I am a very small punter. I won R4000 odd with an R18 Pick 6 perm recently. I like to spend R10 or maybe R12 a race. I suppose it’s what has kept me in the game,” enthused a breathless Alan Barkhuizen as he asked again whether this was a genuine call and if it was really all happening.”
Alan said that he has loved horses since early on and has always been close to the game, while never having owned horses.
“I used to be a runner and worked at Hollywoodbets Scottsville many, many years back. I am friends with Gary Rich and played a part in bringing Bart Rice down from Zimbabwe over a decade ago. We rent our home and maybe we can buy something small. And I’d like now to get involved in a syndicate as I have always dreamed of owning a small share of a racehorse,” he laughed.
Alan said that he had been married ‘forever’ to his wife Samantha, but had told her at the wedding that horseracing was always going to be a part of his life and that if she didn’t like that fact, there could be an issue with the ‘I do’ part of the ceremony.
A delighted Samantha joined the call. She is the sole breadwinner in the Merrivale-based family and needed reassurances that they weren’t being ‘shucksed’ by a Leon Schuster wannabe.
“I cannot tell you how much it means. When we say lifechanging, we mean lifechanging. Thanks so much,” added an emotional Samantha.
Then it was the turn of the Barkhuizen’s 33-year-old son Travis, who stepped in to ensure it was all real. “My Dad is passionate about racing. He isn’t going to sleep for a month after this,” laughed Travis.
Finally, the delighted family hooked a call through to their daughter Danielle, who lives in Durban North. She seemed convinced and said three cheers for Hollywoodbets.
