The Grand National result was expensive for some bookmakers
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The record number of successful favourites at the Cheltenham festival and a well-backed Grand National winner have taken 22% off pre-tax profit at bookmaker Paddy Power.
The UK and Irish-listed bookmaker reported a pre-tax profit of 7.2m euros (£5m) for January-June, down from 9.3m euros in the corresponding period of 2002.
Profits were hit by a string of Irish-trained winners at Cheltenham including Back In Front, Moscow Flyer and Xenophon as well as some big gambles landed on Monty's Pass, the Irish-trained winner of the Grand National.
The company said the "adverse" racing results were exceptional and would not affect future profitability.
Paddy Power had 139 betting shops as of 30 June, of which 134 were in Ireland and five in the UK.
The group also has more than 200,000 registered online or telephone customers, of whom more than half are in the UK.
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