Millionaire punter still loves a bargain

He may be one of Mansfield’s newest millionaires after his good fortune on the horses, but former wheelie-bin cleaner Craig Brazier still likes a bargain.

Despite his recently acquired £1.3m fortune, the 39-year-old Mansfield Woodhouse resident took advantage of Chad’s two-for-one ticket offer at Southwell Racecourse at the weekend - and took a busload of friends and family to enjoy the fun.

Hundreds of readers took advantage of the special offer in last week’s paper for the fifth annual Chad Family Fun Day on Sunday.

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And Craig, who won a total of £1,342,599 from a £2 on May’s bumper Scoop6 payout, was asked to present the trophy to the winner of the Chad Handicap Hurdle - a labour of love as he’d just bet a tenner on winning horse Shubatt.

Craig said: “We go every year to the Chad Race Day - it was an absolutely fantastic day out with some fantastic people.

“Life’s fantastic at the moment but I still like a bargain so I took advantage of Chad’s two-for-one offer and hired minibuses for friends and family to take them all to a day at the races.

“I would have won on the first race as well if it hadn’t fallen - for me it’s not about the money any more, it’s all about backing the winners.”

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Craig told Chad he has now moved to a bigger house in Mansfield Woodhouse and has given up his job as a wheelie-bin cleaner, despite vowing to carry on with the day job following his good fortune.

Following his big win, the father-of-two was also in the running to win a further £5.5m when he and seven other winners on the Scoop6 had a free bet on the bonus race at York in June.

But despite the eventual winner offering him the chance to join a syndicate to share the takings, Craig opted to go it alone.

The fifth annual Chad’s Family Fun Day included a host of entertainment for youngsters including gladiator duels, laser quest and the chance to meet racecourse mascot Freddie Furlong.

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There were appearances from popular children’s TV characters Mike the Knight and Evie at intervals throughout the day.

And budding young jockeys were also given the chance to find out more about the equine and human stars of the sport and design their own racing silks.

PICTURED: Craig Brazier and family present the winner’s trophy to Lisa Stevenson traveling head lad of winner Shubaat.