Breaking the Bank: Golden Jackpot Windfall

Breaking the Bank - featuring data courtesy of Equibase - highlights the biggest scores of the past week in racing. (Santa Anita Park photo by Eclipse Sportswire)
On Saturday, April 4, while a collection of horses across the country were earning a trip to the Kentucky Derby, one highly fortunate handicapper earned his own first-class trip to the run for the roses … and the Preakness … and the Belmont Stakes … and the Breeders’ Cup.
For the next few decades.
That clairvoyant with plenty of cash for traveling and vacations is the lucky person who had the single winning ticket on the Golden Pick 6 Jackpot at Golden Gate Fields on Saturday and turned a 20-cent wager into $280,459 with an extra 34 cents to boot.
Click here for Equibase charts for Saturday’s card at Golden Gate Fields
Fueled by a carryover of $211,970, the winning jackpot combination was capped by Jenny Bear’s victory in the 10th and final race at 10.20-to-1 odds.
The maiden filly claimer, who notched a gate-to-wire victory, also brought down the curtain on a sequence that included just one winning favorite, 2.30-to-1 shot Midnight Miley in the eighth and penultimate race of the day.
The rest of that bank-breaking winning ticket included 2.20-to-1 second choice Nina’s Dragon, Lucky to Stay Home at 10-to-1, Atomic Rule at 6.60-to-1 and Down the Fairway at 9.10-to-1.
In contrast to the huge cash windfall from the jackpot, the Pick 4 on the final four races of the day retuned a “mere” $3,151 for a $1 ticket.
The day before, on April 3, the $1 Super High Five in the ninth race at Gulfstream Park also financed quite a few vacations as it returned $74,018.
Stormy Regatta won that race at 14.60-to-1 odds to start the ball rolling and Westminster Road (2.10-to-1), Princess Fiona (8.50-to-1), The Ghost Bride (15.90-to-1) and Bluegrass Special (5.30-to-1) brought down the curtain on the ritzy payoff.
The superfecta on that race was also quite lucrative as it returned $683.82 for 10 cents and $6,838.20 for $1.
Another of the week’s biggest payoffs took place at Santa Anita on April 2, when the Pick 6 rewarded some brilliant handicappers $46,998.20 for a $2 wager.
Miraglo closed the day with a bang and pumped plenty of explosives into the Pick 6 as he captured the eighth and final race at 17.90-to-1 odds. The 4-year-old was the biggest longshot of the six winners. None of the other voctors was either favored or sent off at odds above 9.40-to-1.
This week’s “How did you come up with that one?” award went to Summer Place to Be, who won the seventh race at Aqueduct – not Saratoga Race Course – on April 4 at astonishing odds of 61.25-to-1 and paid $124.50 for a $2 win ticket.
The 5-year-old New York-bred gelding came into the state-bred optional claimer showing an allowance win two starts back, yet that race took place last May and he had not raced since June, when he finished fifth as a 3-to-2 favorite.
Clearly the betting public ignored Summer Place to Be due to the layoff, but those with long memories on Wood Memorial Stakes day at the Big A were rewarded with the week’s best win payoff and the key to unlock other riches in the race.
Aside from the hefty win payoff, the race generated some other delicious mutuels, such as a $347.50 exacta for $2 with the even-money favorite, a $3,614 trifecta for $2 and a blockbuster $76,159 superfecta for $2.
From the juicy sounds of those payoffs, it appears the top finishers in the Wood were not the only ones who earned enough cash to pay for a trip to Louisville on the first Saturday in May.
Top Payouts for the Week Ended April 5

Wager
 Wager Amount 
 Payoff 
Track
Date
Race#

Win
 $2.00
 $124.50
AQU
4/4/15
7

Place
 $2.00
 $58.00
GP
4/4/15
11

Show
 $2.00
 $25.40
MVR
3/30/15
2

Exacta
 $1.00
 $385.80
SA
4/3/15
8

Exacta
 $2.00
 $950.40
CT
4/1/15
6

Quinella
 $1.00
 $94.30
TUP
3/30/15
6

Quinella
 $2.00
 $402.20
WRD
3/30/15
10

Trifecta
 $0.50
 $1,202.30
PEN
4/1/15
4

Trifecta
 $1.00
 $5,415.70
FON
4/3/15
8

Trifecta
 $2.00
 $5,568.00
CT
4/1/15
6

Superfecta
 $0.10
 $3,568.47
OP
4/3/15
8

Superfecta
 $1.00
 $10,834.20
TUP
3/31/15
4

Superfecta
 $2.00
 $76,159.00
AQU
4/4/15
7

Daily Double
 $1.00
 $483.20
SUN
4/3/15
10

Daily Double
 $2.00
 $1,257.60
PEN
4/1/15
4

Pick 3
 $0.50
 $1,599.80
SUN
4/5/15
10

Pick 3
 $1.00
 $5,475.70
TUP
3/30/15
8

Pick 3
 $2.00
 $17,975.40
HAW
4/4/15
4

Pick 4
 $0.50
 $10,716.85
TUP
3/30/15
8

Pick 4
 $1.00
 $16,522.50
TAM
4/3/15
6

Pick 4
 $2.00
 $16,106.20
WRD
3/31/15
9

Pick 5
 $0.50
 $23,445.05
SA
4/4/15
5

Pick 5
 $2.00
 $55,221.80
HAW
4/4/15
5

Pick 5 Jackpot
 $0.50
 $2,026.80
FON
4/4/15
11

Pick 6
 $1.00
 $2,944.00
TUP
3/31/15
8

Pick 6
 $2.00
 $46,998.20
SA
4/2/15
8

Pick 6 Jackpot
 $0.10
 $1,112.32
PIM
4/2/15
9

Pick 6 Jackpot
 $0.20
 $280,459.34
GG
4/4/15
9

Super High Five
 $0.50
 $339.70
MVR
3/30/15
6

Super High Five
 $1.00
 $74,018.00
GP
4/3/15
9

Super High Five
 $2.00
 $3,563.80
MNR
4/1/15
9

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.