Heating engineer Steve Whiteley said he had only gone to Exeter racecourse because it was free to get in.
He placed a £2 accumulator bet at the suggestion of his mates, and then watched in disbelief as, one-by-one, his horses came in.
It is by far the biggest Tote jackpot ever won, and Mr Whiteley is the first ordinary punter to win it - it has only been done previously by a syndicate and a professional gambler.
If the starting prices of all of the horses he backed are added together, the combined odds of him winning were just over 870,000-1.
To win the accumulator Mr Whiteley, from North Tawton, had to pick the winners of all six races at the meet.
He won race after race until it came down to the final one in which he had backed Lupita, a chestnut mare who had been beaten in her 28 previous outings.
"The most exciting bit was after the fourth race when my mate said only seven people in the whole country were still in it. I couldn't watch the last race," said Mr Whiteley.
The most exciting bit was after the fourth race when my mate said only seven people in the whole country were still in it. I couldn't watch the last race
Lucky punter Steve Whiteley
Lupita had last won in 2008 - on the flat - and was priced at odds of 12-1 in the hurdles race.
On top of this her jockey, Jessica Lodge, had never won before.
"Why did I pick the last one? Lodge is just a name that sticks in my head. I didn't know anything about her. I'm not a horse racing man."
Tote racing manager Jayne Amor said Mr Whiteley had come to check if he had been reading his ticket correctly after the fourth race.
"The excitement at the racecourse was unbelievable. When we realised it was one ticket it was so exciting," she said.
Mr Whiteley's winning dividend was declared at £1,445,671, the largest in Tote Jackpot history.
As for the day job, he says he will not be giving up his work as a heating engineer. In fact he was due to fix a leak under some floorboards after our interview.
The big win has not gone to his head either - for his partner's birthday he said he had bought her a 65p card, and would be taking her down the local pub for chicken and chips.
Before the final race the winners he had picked were: Semi Colon the 2-1 favourite, Black Phantom 12-1, Ammunition 16-1, Mr Bennett 16-1, and Lundy Sky 5-1.
good luck to that man i say
