Breaking the Bank: Southern California Score

Breaking the Bank - featuring data courtesy of Equibase - highlights the biggest scores of the past week in racing. (Photo by Eclipse Sportswire)
There were no rainbows or jackpots on racing’s landscape last week, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t an opportunity to turn two bucks into enough cash to fund a four-year college education.
The folks sharp enough to take down the Pick 6 at Santa Anita on Feb. 28 managed to break the bank by raking in a hefty $141,091.80 on a sequence that included three post-time favorites.
Tabbing Smoove It ($8.40, 4th race), Masochistic ($4.40, 5th) and Luminance ($5, 7th) were the relatively simple legs of the wager as well as proof that logical horses can often unlock the door to a huge payoff.
In this case, they helped reduce the Pick 6 into a Pick 3 – albeit a very challenging Pick 3.
The stumpers in the sequence were Force ($26.80, 6th) and then the 1-2 punch of Stellar Wind ($16) and Cindys Secret ($21.40) in the final two races of the day.
Considering that the Pick 3 for races four through six returned $335.20 and the Pick 3 on races seven through nine paid $669.60, the inherent value in the larger sequence bet becomes quite obvious for someone in search of a six-figure return.
Pick 4 players also found a nice reward for a perplexing handicapping riddle as they collected a cool $85,389 at frost-bitten and snowy Aqueduct on March 1.
This time there was no chalk. The smallest payoff in the sequence (Races 6-9) was the $12.60 return on Lucky Lotto in the sixth. There was also a $13 payoff on Doc Almon in the eighth and the other two legs belonged to improbable longshots.
Native Hero, the 28.25-to-1 outsider in a field of eight, took race seven and the capper was provided in the ninth race by Sugar Gold, who took home this week’s “head for the exits happy” award in the process.
Unraced since July at Saratoga, Sugar Gold came into the March 1 race with a record of 0-for-9 and was never closer to the winner than 10 lengths in any of those races. But the combination of a lengthy rest, a drop to all-time low claiming tag of $25,000 and a snowy inner-track brought out the best in the New York-bred gelding, who rallied in the final furlong for a 1 1/4-length victory for trainer John Hertler, of Slew o’ Gold fame, and returned $93 for a $2 win bet.
The three favorites followed Sugar Gold across the finish line and a disqualification elevated the 1.65-to-1 rhythmical favorite Hushhushmushmush to second, yet the exotics also yielded lucrative payoffs of $392 for the exacta, $1,097 for the triple and $4,194 for the superfecta.
The late double that day, combining Doc Almon and Sugar Gold, returned a robust $774.
Aqueduct was also home to a Pick 5 that returned $50,217 on Feb. 27. Real Estate Rich ($32.80) was the tough nut in a sequence (Races 1-5) that also included a 11-to-10 favorite in the finale and a three-horse field in the second race.
This week’s “how did you come up with that one?” award went to the handicappers who figured out that Uisneach was worthy of a $2 wager in the seventh race at Tampa Bay Downs on Feb. 26.
The 5-year-old New York-bred mare was making her third career start and was jumping up to a $25,000 claimer after running sixth and ninth for $16,000 in her first two starts. Sent off at a whopping 74.10-to-1, she apparently benefitted from facing males in her most recent start as she posted a half-length victory against females and returned $150.20 for the week’s highest win payoff.
It wasn’t a jackpot, but it wasn’t a bad haul at all, was it?
Top Payouts for the Week Ended March 1

Wager
 Wager Amount 
 Payoff 
Track
Date
Race#

Win
 $2.00
 $150.20
TAM
2/26/15
7

Place
 $2.00
 $47.80
TAM
2/26/15
7

Show
 $2.00
 $111.00
CT
2/26/15
7

Exacta
 $1.00
 $572.10
SUN
2/23/15
8

Exacta
 $2.00
 $814.60
CT
2/26/15
7

Quinella
 $1.00
 $58.00
TUP
2/25/15
7

Quinella
 $2.00
 $109.00
AQU
2/28/15
4

Trifecta
 $0.50
 $3,601.45
PEN
2/27/15
2

Trifecta
 $1.00
 $7,177.40
FON
2/28/15
8

Trifecta
 $2.00
 $14,131.60
CT
2/26/15
7

Superfecta
 $0.10
 $4,289.24
PEN
2/27/15
2

Superfecta
 $1.00
 $25,107.60
TAM
2/26/15
7

Superfecta
 $2.00
 $22,276.00
AQU
3/1/15
7

Daily Double
 $1.00
 $145.20
DED
2/26/15
5

Daily Double
 $2.00
 $862.40
TAM
2/26/15
7

Pick 3
 $0.50
 $2,864.90
FG
2/26/15
9

Pick 3
 $1.00
 $2,830.60
GP
3/1/15
8

Pick 3
 $2.00
 $10,619.00
AQU
3/1/15
9

Pick 4
 $0.50
 $6,594.80
FG
2/27/15
9

Pick 4
 $1.00
 $9,310.60
MNR
3/1/15
5

Pick 4
 $2.00
 $85,389.00
AQU
3/1/15
9

Pick 5
 $0.50
 $9,243.60
SA
2/27/15
5

Pick 5
 $1.00
 $22,413.10
HOU
2/23/15
10

Pick 5
 $2.00
 $50,217.00
AQU
2/27/15
5

Pick 5 Jackpot
 $0.20
 $527.66
LRL
2/28/15
9

Pick 5 Jackpot
 $0.50
 $19,098.05
FG
3/1/15
10

Pick 6
 $1.00
 $5,547.50
TUP
2/23/15
8

Pick 6
 $2.00
 $141,091.80
SA
2/28/15
9

Pick 6 Jackpot
 $0.20
 $34,978.30
GP
2/26/15
11

Super High Five
 $0.50
 $4,277.00
FG
2/27/15
9

Super High Five
 $1.00
 $13,800.80
GP
3/1/15
12

Super High Five
 $2.00
 $16,519.20
HOU
2/27/15
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.