Tony McCoy has reflected on his “unbelievable” victory in the race to be crowned the BBC Sports Personality of the Year. The 36-year-old became the first jockey to claim the title after securing 293,152 votes, 41% of the overall total of 698,242, on Sunday evening.
McCoy finished ahead of darts star Phil Taylor and heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis to be awarded the famous trophy at the climax of the annual review of the sporting year, which took place at Birmingham’s LG Arena.
Sports Personality: McCoy Bashes Bookies Once Again And Haye Is Favourite For Next Year
AP McCoy has done it again and bashed the bookies for a six figure sum. The biggest bet Hills took on McCoy was for £7000 when he was priced at Even money. By scooping the BBC Sports Personality, McCoy has managed to end the recent curse of the favourite and was priced at 1/4 when he eventually picked up the award at 9 o’clock on Sunday.
“McCoy has made a habit of costing us money over the years, however, we are more than happy to let him off this once as the award was fully deserved. A sustained gamble since he won the Grand National back in April meant that he was the biggest loser in the book this year and once again he delivered for the punters. Congratulations Tony!” said William Hill spokesman Joe Crilly.
David Haye is Hill’s 5/1 favourite for the 2011 BBC Sports Personality of the Year while Andy Murray and Lewis Hamilton are both priced at 6/1. With the Rugby Union World Cup taking place in New Zealand, Chris Ashton is priced at 33/1 and Lewis Moody is 40/1. Should England secure the Ashes down under Andrew Strauss and Graeme Swann can be backed at 33/1 with Hills.
“There is no major football tournament in the summer of 2011, no Olympics, so it may be time for someone else to step up to the plate. Haye will be fighting one or both of the Klitschko brothers next year and should he end the year with all the World Heavyweight titles he will surely be a shoo-in for the title,” said Hill’s spokesman Joe Crilly.
Sports Personality 2011: 5/1 David Haye; 6/1 Andy Murray; 6/1 Lewis Hamilton; 10/1 Lee Westwood; 12/1 Amir Khan; 16/1 Rory McIlroy; 20/1 Paul Casey; 25/1 Graeme McDowell; 25/1 Ian Poulter; 25/1 Justin Rose; 25/1 Wayne Rooney; 25/1 Jenson Button; 33/1 John Terry; 33/1 Frank Lampard; 33/1 Luke Donald; 3/1 James DeGale; 33/1 Jessica Ennis; 33/1 Andrew Strauss; 33/1 Graeme Swann; 33/1 Chris Ashton; 33/1 Mark Cavendish; 33/1 Tony McCoy; 40/1 Lewis Moody; 50/1 Laura Robson; 50/1 Kevin Pietersen; 50/1 Phil Taylor; 50/1 Ronnie O’Sulivan; 50/1 John Higgins; 50/1 Gavin Henson; 50/1 Bradley Wiggins; 50/1 Rebecca Adlington; 66/1 Christine Ohurugu, Ryan Moore, Ruby Walsh, 66/1 Mo Farah; 66/1 Victoria Pendleton; 66/1 Amy Williams; 100/1 Audley Harrison; 100/1 Jonny Wilkinson; 100/1 Paula Radcliffe



