Breaking the Bank: A Grand Score

Breaking the Bank - featuring data courtesy of Equibase - highlights the biggest scores of the past week in racing. (Photo by Penelope P. Miller/America's Best Racing) 
William Smith was one of more than 600 participants who did not win the Daily Racing Form/National Thoroughbred Racing Association National Handicapping Championship.
Nevertheless, it was a rather memorable weekend for the Maryland resident.
Smith started the NHC weekend in a grand fashion – roughly 159 grand - as he took down Gulfstream Park’s Rainbow 6 on Jan. 23, cashing to the tune of $159,411.20 for having the lone 20-cent ticket on the winning combination.
Smith’s big score marked the second straight week in which the Rainbow 6 was hit for a six-figure payoff. For Smith, the winning ticket was part of a $115.20 wager he placed through Twinspires.
The horse that sealed Smith’s victory was Ludicrous Speed, who won Gulfstream’s finale at 6.40-to-1 odds, but his path to holding the lone ticket was paved by three longshots who started the sequence (Call Me Crazy $19, One Proud Princess $26.60 and Off Duty $30). There was only one winning favorite (Quiet Kitten, who paid $4.40 in Race 8) and that was highly fortunate for Smith as he singled that horse in his wager.
Second-choice Street Chief ($9) won the ninth race and set the stage for Smith’s breaking of the bank in the finale.
Besides another rainbow turning into a pot of gold, Aqueduct and Santa Anita were the scenes of gargantuan Pick 5 and Pick 6 payoffs.
At the Big A on Jan. 19, the Pick 5 on the first five races returned a windfall of $143,562, helped by the unlikely circumstance of not one but two disqualifications. In the third race, 3.20-to-1 third choice Chapman was dropped to second for a bumping incident in the stretch, sending 25.75-1 shot Mr. Masterpiece to the winner’s circle.
In the fifth race, 9-1 shot Identity Crisis crossed the finish line first but was disqualified and placed second as Cee No More was elevated to the top spot at 12.20-to-1 odds.
With a turn of events like that, one can only wonder if the holder of the winning ticket had made a big win bet on Toast of New York in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Can you say payback from the racing gods?
The Pick 6 at Santa Anita on Jan. 25 also elevated several people into a new tax bracket as it returned $141,929.20. Courageous Call in Race 5 inflated the payoff with a victory at 25.40-to-1 odds that offset victories by two favorites in the sequence.
The “How did you come up with that one?” Award for the week’s most unlikely winner was taken home by Springandaprayer, who paid $128.20 for winning the fourth race at Oaklawn Park on Jan. 23.
It was a logical result, provided a handicapper adhered to the good ole angle of backing a horse who was 32-to-1 or more in five of his last six races.
The “Head for the exits happy” Award went to the 11th race at Tampa Bay Downs on Jan. 24. When Over the Cliff won the finale at 37-to-1 odds, it not only allowed handicappers to bail out with a $76 win payoff, it also closed out a $1 Pick 4 that paid $82,277.10 and a $1 Pick 3 that returned $12,945.30.
Top Payout for the Week Ended Jan. 25

Wager
 Wager Amount 
 Payoff 
Track
Date
Race#

Win
 $2.00
 $128.20
OP
1/23/15
4

Place
 $2.00
 $63.80
SA
1/23/15
8

Show
 $2.00
 $40.40
AQU
1/22/15
5

Exacta
 $1.00
 $949.20
SA
1/23/15
8

Exacta
 $2.00
 $1,206.60
GP
1/19/15
2

Quinella
 $1.00
 $75.30
TUP
1/21/15
8

Quinella
 $2.00
 $131.50
AQU
1/19/15
4

Trifecta
 $0.50
 $941.75
MVR
1/19/15
7

Trifecta
 $1.00
 $7,019.00
SA
1/23/15
8

Trifecta
 $2.00
 $9,266.40
TP
1/25/15
9

Superfecta
 $0.10
 $4,219.83
TP
1/25/15
6

Superfecta
 $1.00
 $96,805.10
SA
1/23/15
8

Superfecta
 $2.00
 $18,463.60
CT
1/24/15
2

Daily Double
 $1.00
 $450.40
DED
1/23/15
7

Daily Double
 $2.00
 $2,273.20
TAM
1/24/15
11

Pick 3
 $0.50
 $7,412.55
TP
1/25/15
9

Pick 3
 $1.00
 $12,945.30
TAM
1/24/15
11

Pick 3
 $2.00
 $6,711.80
HOU
1/19/15
7

Pick 4
 $0.50
 $12,976.45
TP
1/25/15
9

Pick 4
 $1.00
 $89,166.40
GP
1/23/15
5

Pick 4
 $2.00
 $17,287.00
AQU
1/19/15
5

Pick 5
 $0.20
 $198.96
PM
1/20/15
9

Pick 5
 $0.50
 $66,353.80
GP
1/19/15
11

Pick 5
 $1.00
 $2,661.50
HOU
1/20/15
10

Pick 5
 $2.00
 $143,562.00
AQU
1/19/15
5

Pick 5 Jackpot
 $0.50
 $55,943.05
FG
1/24/15
10

Pick 6
 $0.20
 $2,165.92
GG
1/25/15
9

Pick 6
 $1.00
 $1,212.20
TUP
1/23/15
8

Pick 6
 $2.00
 $141,929.20
SA
1/25/15
9

Pick 6 Jackpot
 $0.20
 $159,411.24
GP
1/23/15
10

Super High Five
 $0.50
 $8,547.60
FG
1/22/15
9

Super High Five
 $1.00
 $11,168.20
GP
1/23/15
10

Click here for a complete list of racetracks with abbreviations.

© 2014 Equibase Company LLC, all rights reserved. Data provided or compiled by Equibase Company LLC generally is accurate, but occasionally errors and omissions occur as a result of incorrect data received by others, mistakes in processing and other causes. Equibase Company LLC disclaims responsibility for the consequences, if any, of such errors, but would appreciate their being called to their attention.  

Commonly Used Gambling Terms

Account wagering – Betting by internet or phone, in which a bettor must open an account and deposit money with which to bet.
Across the board – A bet on a horse to win, place and show. If the horse wins, the player collects three ways; if second, two ways; and if third, one way, losing the win and place bets. Actually, three bets.
Bounce – An especially poor performance on the heels of an especially good one.
Box – A betting term denoting a combination bet whereby all possible numeric combinations are covered for certain horses.
Bridge jumper – A person who wagers large amounts of money, usually on short- priced horses to show, hoping to realize a small but almost certain profit. The term comes from the structure those bettors may seek if they lose the bet.
Chalk – Betting favorite in a race.
Chalk player – Gambler who wagers on favorites.
Daily Double (or Double) – Type of bet calling for the selection of winners of two consecutive races.
Exacta – A wager in which the first two finishers in a race, in exact order of finish, must be picked.
Exacta box – A wager in which all possible combinations using a given number of horses are selected.
Exotic (bet) – Any bet other than win, place, or show that requires multiple combinations. Examples of exotic wagers are trifecta, Pick 6, Pick 4.
Handle – Amount of money wagered in the pari-mutuel system on a race, full day of races, or entire racing season at a track.
In the money – A horse that finishes first, second or third.
Key horse – A single horse used in multiple combinations in an exotic bet.
Morning line – The starting odds set by the track handicapper.
On the board – Finishing among the first three.
On the nose – Betting a horse to win only.
Overlay – A horse whose odds are greater than its potential to win.
Pari-mutuel – System of wagering where all the money is returned to the bettors after deduction of track and state percentages.
Parlay – A multi-race bet in which all winnings are subsequently wagered on a succeeding race.
Part wheel – Using a key horse or horses in different, but not all possible, exotic wagering combinations.
Pick (6 or other number) – A type of multi-race bet in which the winners of all the included races must be selected. Pick 3, Pick 4, Pick 5, Pick 6 are commonly used by tracks in the United States.
Place bet – A bet on a horse to finish first or second.
Quinella - Bet in which the first two finishers must be picked in either order.
Show bet – A bet on a horse to finish in the money; third or better.
Speed Figure – A metric that rates a horse’s performance in a race, which is determined by a combination of the horse’s performance and the level of competition he/she competed against.
Trifecta – A bet in which the first three finishers must be selected in exact order.
Trifecta box – A trifecta wager in which all possible combinations using a given number of horses are bet upon.
Underlay – Horse whose odds are more promising than his potential to win.
Win – A bet on a horse to finish first.
Wheel – Betting all possible combinations in an exotic wager using at least one horse as the key.