Beteasy has refunded all tickets on Admire Rakti while other corporate bookmakers have described Tuesday's Melbourne Cup as a spirited betting affair.
Admire Rakti started favourite in the $6 million feature but died shortly after he returned to his stall post-race.
"As a response to the news of Admire Rakti passing away, we have awarded a fair go refund to BetEasy members that backed the Japanese stayer in the race," Beteasy's Matthew Tripp said.
Ladbrokes said the biggest bet they took on Protectionist was $10,000 at $8 while the bookie also wrote a ticket of $5000 each-way at $9.
"Four percent of bets held on the Melbourne Cup were on Protectionist leaving us with a very small win," Isaac Ling from Ladbrokes said.
Betfair reported Protectionist traded at $15 in the run after the German galloper started the race at $7.88 and occupied 10 percent of the matched wagers on the exchange.
By comparison, last year's Melbourne Cup winner, Fiorente, was responsible for around 16 percent of the Betfair market.
Race favourite Admire Rakti started $5.90 and was backed as short as $5.50 in the race before finishing out of the placings.
Betting Volumes at Betfair:
2014 Melbourne Cup - $3,863,841
2013 Melbourne Cup - $3,841,689
Matched on the winner:
2014 Protectionist - $572,216
2013 Fiorente - $954,714
Over at Sportingbet one punter collected $221,000 after wagering $26,000 on Protectionist to win. Here's some of the big bets placed at Sportingbet:
$30,000 win Signoff
$26,000 win Protectionist
$25,000 win Admire Rakti
$18,000 win Admire Rakti
$14,000 (each way) Protectionist
$12,000 win Admire Rakti
Meanwhile, Sportsbet have refunded more than $500,000 to anyone who backed Red Cadeaux, Who Shot Thebarman and Signoff.
"Thanks to our money back special, Sportsbet punters had that extra bit of insurance in the Cup," Sportsbet Christian Jantzen said.
