Breaking the Bank: The Ideal Pick 6 Single

Breaking the Bank - featuring data courtesy of Equibase - highlights the biggest scores of the past week in racing. (Photo by Eclipse Sportswire)
Shared Belief, as usual, turned in another electrifying performance in his latest start, the $1-million Santa Anita Handicap.
He also helped several Pick 6 players become deliriously happy as he capped a bank-breaking $93,071.20 payoff for a $2 wager on March 7 at “The Great Race Place.”
While Shared Belief, who was sent off as a 3-to-10 favorite, turned the Pick 6 into a Pick 5 for most folks, the heavy lifting in terms of inflating the payoff was done by a trio of horses that won at odds of 7-to-1 or more.
Leader of that pack was Singing Kitty who won the China Doll Stakes at 19.80-to-1 odds and paid $41.60 for registering a 1 ½-length victory. The three-year-old filly was coming off a win in a $200,000 stakes for California-breds but was overlooked in the open $75,000 stakes.
Also lending a hand in unlocking the vault was Arethusa, who began the sequence with a victory at 10-to-1 odds and returned $22 for winning the sixth race, and Ring Weekend, who captured the Grade 1 Frank E. Kilroe Mile Stakes and returned $17.40.
The March 7 card at Santa Anita Park got off to a lucrative start with a $52,359.55 Pick 5 payoff for a mere 50-cent wager on the first five races of the day. This time wins by Congregationalist ($38), Overcomer ($50.60), and Whisk ($30.20) in Races 1-3 set the stage for the gargantuan payoff.
Those three horses also provided some juicy payouts for the handicappers who were unable to start the day 5-for-5.
The Pick 3 combining the three longshots paid $4,197.50 for $1 and the $2 rolling doubles paid $694.80 and $592.20.
The Brinks truck was also needed for the sixth race superfecta. Aside from Arethusa’s win at 10-to-1, 83.40-to-1 longshot Golden Crown finished fourth to pump up the payoff to $63,936.40 for a $1 wager on the winning 10-12-4-3 combination.
Sam Houston Race Park joined the fun on March 7 when the fourth race superfecta returned a reported $62,239.80 for $2. Given there was only $24,898 total in the pool, we can figure out the winning tickets were for the 10-cent minimum and returned $3,112. The payout was sparked by a 1-2-3 finish by 15.70-to-1, 13.40-to-1 and 14.50-to-1 shots with a 3.90-to-1 third betting choice completing the superfecta.
A day earlier, Sam Houston was the scene for a $16,432.20 Pick 4 return for $1.
The “how did you come up with that one?” award for the week’s biggest and most unfathomable longshot went to Angelof Gettysburg, who won the third race at Delta Downs on March 4 at 42.90-to-1 odds and returned $87.80 for $2.
The three-year-old filly was a snap to select, provided you subscribe to the always “reliable” angle of backing a horse who has lost by 10 lengths or more in five of six career starts.
Needless to say, that system doesn’t work out as well in a race with Shared Belief in it.
Top Payouts for the Week Ended March 8

Wager
 Wager Amount 
 Payoff 
Track
Date
Race#

Win
 $2.00
 $87.80
DED
3/4/15
3

Place
 $2.00
 $50.20
OP
3/6/15
9

Show
 $2.00
 $27.20
GP
3/7/15
11

Exacta
 $1.00
 $202.00
SA
3/7/15
2

Exacta
 $2.00
 $880.80
CT
3/4/15
5

Quinella
 $1.00
 $153.30
TUP
3/8/15
8

Quinella
 $2.00
 $77.00
RIL
3/8/15
5

Trifecta
 $0.50
 $1,055.30
MVR
3/2/15
9

Trifecta
 $1.00
 $3,597.30
GP
3/7/15
11

Trifecta
 $2.00
 $6,369.60
HOU
3/7/15
4

Superfecta
 $0.10
 $7,656.28
GP
3/7/15
11

Superfecta
 $1.00
 $63,936.40
SA
3/7/15
6

Superfecta
 $2.00
 $62,239.80
HOU
3/7/15
4

Daily Double
 $1.00
 $354.10
DED
3/7/15
6

Daily Double
 $2.00
 $1,031.20
HOU
3/2/15
7

Pick 3
 $0.50
 $4,688.10
DED
3/7/15
8

Pick 3
 $1.00
 $4,197.50
SA
3/7/15
3

Pick 3
 $2.00
 $5,290.40
TAM
3/7/15
3

Pick 4
 $0.50
 $8,902.05
TP
3/7/15
4

Pick 4
 $1.00
 $7,699.70
OP
3/6/15
9

Pick 4
 $2.00
 $32,864.40
HOU
3/6/15
10

Pick 5
 $0.50
 $52,359.55
SA
3/7/15
5

Pick 5
 $1.00
 $13,483.20
HOU
3/6/15
10

Pick 5
 $2.00
 $47,141.40
HAW
3/8/15
5

Pick 5 Jackpot
 $0.50
 $14,371.55
FG
3/8/15
10

Pick 6
 $1.00
 $152.10
TUP
3/8/15
8

Pick 6
 $2.00
 $93,071.20
SA
3/7/15
11

Pick 6 Jackpot
 $0.20
 $10,611.00
GP
3/6/15
11

Super High Five
 $0.50
 $4,224.70
DED
3/5/15
5

Super High Five
 $1.00
 $38,221.40
GP
3/8/15
12

Super High Five
 $2.00
 $4,987.80
HOU
3/6/15
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.