National Lottery winners complete bizarre life-long dream after winning mega £2.7 million jackpot

04 April 2024 , 18:45

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Before the windfall, Derek was working as an accountant while Elaine worked as a payroll clerk ( Image: No credit)

Grandparents Derek and Elaine Thompson, from Newcastle, have taken up visiting horse racing tracks as a full time hobby after scooping a massive £2.7million on the National Lottery and packing in their jobs

A husband and wife who scooped £2.7million on the National Lottery have fulfilled their lifelong dream of visiting every racecourse in the UK.

Derek and Elaine Thompson have now made it to all 59 tracks after splashing out on a succession of three horses and travelling the country to see them compete. The married couple of 45 years was one of the first winners of the Lotto jackpot in 1995 when the game was barely 12 months old. 

After pocketing the huge cash prize, they turned their passion into a full-time hobby by aiming to attend every major horse racing meet. And they finally passed the finishing post 29 years later when they visited Ludlow Racecourse in Shropshire earlier this week.

After they pocketed the cash, they started a new full time hobby - attending every major horse racing meet ( Image: No credit)

Derek, 65, said: "We have always loved horse racing, it’s such a great atmosphere and over the years I have learned which trainers to follow. We decided after our National Lottery win to travel to the UK and visit every racecourse in the country. Originally there were 61 but two have closed down over the years. Ludlow is our 59th and we have definitely saved a lovely course for our last one!" 

Elaine, 68, added: "Finishing our tour of the 59 racecourses at Ludlow is really special. It is such a fabulous racecourse small and intimate which is what we love. We really feel a part of the action I don’t think we have ever visited such a friendly racecourse. We will definitely be back."

Elaine was working as a payroll clerk and Derek was an accountant when the pair, both from Newcastle, scooped the eye-watering cash prize just under 30 years ago. They then set up their kids for life and enjoyed holidays around the world, while meeting celebrities including Tony Blair and The Spice Girls.

And remarkably Grandmother Elaine later returned to work nightshifts at M&S stacking shelves because she did not like the idea of being idle. But they always wanted to put some of their winnings towards their love of horse racing and this led them to invest in a succession of thoroughbreds. Sadly, luck was never really on their side, with one of the horses nick-named Sick Note as it seemed to develop a cough before each race meeting and never won.

Their third racehorse, Richmond Lady, did go on to win a race at Exeter, but as it was such a foggy day, Elaine and Derek were unable to witness it crossing the finishing line. Eventually, they decided to give up on putting their cash into the less-than-successful investments, and instead just focus on visiting every race track. 

Elaine said: "Owning racehorses is a pretty pricey business - there are a lot of costs involved. One horse, a beautiful grey named Balfour Lady, needed a lot of shoes. I would say she had more shoes than Imelda Marcos whilst we owned her. It was lots of fun but we eventually decided it was probably best to focus on being punters and stick to our placepots." 

The couple’s day at Ludlow was made even more special as Elaine and Derek sponsored the longest race of the day. They even got to present the winning jockey and the groom for the best turned-out horse with their prizes.

Diane Thomas, assistant manager at Ludlow Racecourse, said: "What a day to celebrate. We were delighted to welcome Elaine and Derek to Ludlow and feel honoured that as their 59th racecourse visit we were able to make it so special for them and hopefully a day they will never forget. That is quite an achievement visiting every single racecourse in the UK. Not sure I have heard of this happening before?"

Jockey Harry Cobden, who was on board the winning horse of the race the couple sponsored, said: "Winning a race is always a special moment. But today has been made even more special by having the winning trophy presented to me by lucky Lotto winners themselves, Elaine and Derek. It is certainly a day which I will not forget and for so many reasons."

Emma Davis