£15,000 bet placed on the Boat race

A Cambridge based Ladbrokes telephone customer has wagered £15,000- the biggest bet in Boat Race history- on a Light Blue victory this Saturday.And the confident punter also staked £1,000 on the course record -16 minutes19 seconds- being broken, prompting bookies to cut the price from 10/1 to 8/1.Ladbrokes spokesman, Nick Weinberg, said: "I'd imagine the punter's heart and head say Cambridge. And the formbook suggests he's got it spot on. The Light Blues have the classier rowers and are packed full of experience. But as ever the lane draw will be crucial."And the £1,000 on the course record going suggests he's expecting Cambridge to really motor. If the weather holds we could be forced to dig deep."The early money had been for Oxford and we'd begun to build up a sizable liability on the Dark Blues. But the record breaking wager has changed all that."Bookies anticipate that £1 million will be gambled industry-wide on the raceLATEST BETTINGWinnerCambridge 8/15Oxford 11/8Dead heat 100/1Winning distanceCambridge 1/4 - 1 length 7/1Cambridge 1 1/4 lengths - 2 lengths 6/1Cambridge 2 1/4 lengths - 3 lengths 5/1Cambridge 3 1/4 lengths - 4 lengths 8/1Cambridge 4 1/4 lengths - 5 lengths 12/1Cambridge 5 1/4 lengths - 6 lengths 20/1Cambridge 6 1/4 lengths - 7 lengths 33/1Cambridge 7 1/4 lengths - 8 lengths 50/1Cambridge 8 1/4 lengths - 9 lengths 80/1Cambridge 9 1/4 lengths - 10 lengths 100/1Cambridge 10 1/4 lengths or more 80/1Oxford 1/4 - 1 length 9/1Oxford 1 1/4 lengths - 2 lengths 9/1Oxford 2 1/4 lengths - 3 lengths 8/1Oxford 3 1/4 lengths - 4 lengths 12/1Oxford 4 1/4 lengths - 5 lengths 16/1Oxford 5 1/4 lengths - 6 lengths 25/1Oxford 6 1/4 lengths - 7 lengths 50/1Oxford 7 1/4 lengths - 8 lengths 80/1Oxford 8 1/4 lengths - 9 lengths 125/1Oxford 9 1/4 lengths - 10 lengths 150/1Oxford 10 1/4 lengths or more 125/1Course record to be beaten (Cambridge 1998- 16 min 19 secs) 8/1Boat to sink 40/1A disqualification 50/1Both Boats to sink 200/1