After the third US TV debate, bookies have overwhelmingly called it in favour of Hillary Clinton

The Republican was seen as the loser after last night's clash with Hilary Clinton by almost everyone except himself and the odds reflect that

James Moore
Thursday 20 October 2016 11:52 BST
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Trump's chances are slimmer after debate debacle
Trump's chances are slimmer after debate debacle

Get ready to breathe a sigh of relief: Bookmakers are lining up behind the consensus that Donald Trump decisively lost the final Presidential debate with Hilary Clinton.

Trump’s odds had been shortening in the run up to the debate. William Hill had cut him from 11-2 to 4-1 over two days. Coral was as low as 7-2 and the Betfair exchange odds, set by punters rather than the firm, also showed they believed Trump’s chances were improving.

That all changed as bookmakers digested Trump’s failure in what was billed as his best chance to rescue a faltering bid for the Presidency.

Eleven of the 28 betting firms listed by Oddschecker had pushed Trump’s odds out by the middle of the morning. The Republican is now a best price 5-1 to walk into the Oval Office as President Trump, a 17 per cent chance, with other firms quoting odds of 4-1 (20 per cent) or 9-2 (18 per cent).

Hilary Clinton’s price ranges from 1-5 with NetBet (83 per cent chance) to 1-7 (88.5 per cent chance) with SportingBet.

FiveThirtyEight in the US, which uses polling and other data to produce a percentage forecast, rates Clinton's chances at 87.3 per cent and Trump’s at 12.6 per cent. It also forecasts that Clinton will come close to achieving a 50 per cent share of the popular vote.

That prediction includes minority party candidates including Gary Johnson, the Libertarian to whom some Republicans who can’t stomach voting for Clinton have turned to as an alternative to Trump, and the Green Party’s Jill Stein.

All this would appear to be good news for the woman who placed a six figure bet on Trump in a Northumbrian William Hill shop, and said she viewed it as an investment rather than a gamble.

By converse it’s bad news for John Mappin, the Cornish hotelier dubbed a Trump super fan who stands to pocket a six figure sum if the Republican wins.

But don’t cry too hard for him. He’d backed Trump to win the Republican ticket at 20-1 so makes money whatever the outcome.

It’s worth remembering that none of this will cut any ice with US voters. They will have the final say.

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