From having $975,000 on Roger Federer to win his opening-round Wimbledon match at $1.01 to $80 on Y E Yang at $251 to win the US PGA, 2009 has seen some clever wagers, some that have raised eyebrows and others that were just plain silly.

Biggest bet

ROGER Federer may be the king of Wimbledon but it still takes plenty of guts to slap close to $1 million on him to win his opening-round match, especially at the silly price of $1.01.

The biggest individual bet recorded with TAB Sportsbet in 2009 rested on the shoulders of Federer with the punter risking $975,000 to win $9750 against Yen-Hsun Lu.

He won the match in straight sets before progressing to win the final. TAB Sportsbet's Glenn Munsie asked the punter why he had $975,000 on the Swiss maestro and not just $1 million.

He politely replied, "because that is all the money I have in my TAB account". Obviously a battler.

Biggest loser

WITH the West Coast Eagles riding a 19-game losing streak away from home, the third-placed Western Bulldogs were expected to win the round 19 game with ease at Etihad Stadium last year.

The Bulldogs were raging hot favourites at $1.04 and one punter liked those odds, placing $250,000 on to win $10,000.

The Eagles skipped away to a 47-point lead 21 minutes into the second quarter before the Bulldogs kicked their first goal of the match. Much to the delight of the punter, who would have been clutching his lucky rabbit's foot at this stage, the Bulldogs found form and closed to within a goal at the final change. The lead changed four times in the final quarter before the Eagles kicked back to win the match 102-97. Ouch!

Longest-price winner

NOT many people had even heard of Y E Yang before the US PGA Championship, let alone believe he could win the famed major and defeat Tiger Woods in the process.

But one punter, who takes the prize for the longest-price winner backed with TAB Sportsbet in 2009, must have liked something about the South Korean after having $80 on him at the start of the tournament at $251.

Dumbest bet

THE gold medal for the dumbest bet of 2009 was a no-contest.

With the New England Patriots leading 34-28 against Indianapolis in an NFL game in November, TAB Sportsbet received a bet of $10,000 at $1.01 with just under two minutes remaining on the clock.

The Patriots had the ball and the match all but wrapped up, with the Colts getting out to as long as $13 with live betting.

All New England had to do was run the clock down and take the win.

The punter obviously thought it was an easy way to win $100. But before they had time to think about how they would spend their winnings, New England failed to make the first down and handed Indianapolis the ball just 28 yards out from their line.

Of course MVP favourite Peyton Manning did the rest, throwing for a touchdown in the final seconds to win the game by a point - handing the TAB a nice little Christmas bonus of $10,000 for the risk of only $100.

The future

TODAY marks the start of a new punting year and there has already been big money splashed about in the NRL, AFL and Australian Open tennis for 2010.

The Canterbury Bulldogs were one of the most consistent sides in 2009 and although they failed to fire in the crackerjack semi-final against Parramatta, plenty of punters believe they have the right roster to go all the way this year. The two biggest bets wagered on the 2010 NRL premiership have been for the Bulldogs including $9000 and $5000 at $8. As a result they have firmed from $8 to $7 behind favourites Parramatta, who have remained solid at $6.

The other big movers in the NRL have been the South Sydney Rabbitohs, whose pack has been bolstered during the off-season, and Wests Tigers.

The Brisbane Lions are already TAB Sportsbet's worst result in AFL betting with a host of punters believing the addition of Brendan Fevola can spark the Lions back to the form which saw them dominate the game almost a decade ago.

The Australian Open tennis is always a keenly contested affair and the biggest bets so far have come for Belgian duo Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin. The comeback queens have firmed from $6 to $5.50 and $9 to $7.50 respectively following several four-figure wagers.