A LOCAL charity looks a racing certainty to receive a £50 boost whatever the result of this Saturday’s Grand National.
But the gift, courtesy of the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC), could be larger if the horse backed by Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale MP David Mundell comes home first.
On the advice of a constituent attending his latest surgery tour, the long-serving MP opted to place the charity bet on then 14-1 shot Mr Incredible.
The seven-year-old, trained Willie Mullins, is thought to have as reasonable a chance as many in what is traditionally a wide open 40-strong field and is hailed as the world’s best-known steeplechase.
Mr Mundell was invited to the Annan branch of William Hill to place his bet where he was met by executives from the bookmakers, a member of BGC, the industry-wide standards body.
He said: “Regardless of how Mr Incredible does, the £50 donation will go to a very good charity locally and it would be great if the Aintree result allows us to increase that figure significantly.”
The Grand National is due to start at 5.15 pm on Saturday.
Mr Mundell, who also regularly donates to constituency good causes through political research fund-raising, will pass on the proceeds of the charity bet to the local branch of Sands, which provides information and support to parents whose baby has died.
