Breaking the Bank: Free Money

Breaking the Bank - featuring data courtesy of Equibase - highlights the biggest scores of the past week in racing. (Gulfstream Park photo by Eclipse Sportswire)
Free money.
Who doesn’t love it?
Clearly handicappers across the nation have an affinity for it as the prospect of tapping into a $1.4-million carryover brought them out in record numbers on Saturday, April 25 for Gulfstream Park’s card.
With a mandatory payoff on the Rainbow Pick 6 Jackpot slated for Saturday, those folks who wagered into that pool knew they would collect a share of a seven-figure carryover dating to March 19 if they could connect on the final six races of the day.
Who knows? Someone might have even raked in a multi-million dollar payoff if their lucky horseshoe paid off and they had the only winning ticket.
As a result, $5,672,198 in fresh money was bet into the pool, smashing the track’s old record of $3.5-million wagered on the Rainbow Pick 6 in 2011.
Unfortunately, for those hoping to turn their wagers into a reason for early retirement, all of the traffic led to a bevy of winners and a relatively modest return of $14,504.92 for a difficult sequence to peg.
The Rainbow Pick 6 started with a 27.10-to-1 shot, ended with a 6.60-to-1 shot and even had a $44 winner sandwiched in the middle. Favorites won the other three legs, paying $3.80, $4.20 and $4.60, which allowed big bettors to single a few races and delve deep into some of the more perplexing races. Hence, the large number of winning tickets.
Those folks hoping to break the bank had much better success with the Rainbow Pick 6 on April 22 at Gulfstream when the payoff checked in at $89,835.78 for the handful of people who had winning, 20-cent tickets.
That sequence was similar to the one for the mandatory payoff. It contained three favorites coupled with $49, $31.20 and $19.80 winners, but with only $320,957 bet into the pool, there were substantially fewer perfect tickets and a far greater payoff.
The theme of three winning favorites also figured heavily in a $70,204 Pick 6 payout on April 22 at Aqueduct. The trio of chalk - $5.40, $4.40 and $5.50 – was joined by $24, $19 and $8.50 winners to account for plenty of bling for handicappers savvy enough to use all six of them on a $2 ticket.
Elsewhere, the “how did you come up with that one?” award went to Country Soul, who snapped out of the doldrums of losing her three 2015 starts by a combined margin of 41 lengths and won the sixth race on April 24 at Prairie Meadows by a length and a half, paying a week’s-best $116.40 to win.
She also topped a $391.20 exacta for $2 and a $2 trifecta worth $1,982.80, with the second choice and favorite running second and third, respectively.
It wasn’t free money, but rest assured it was a welcomed windfall nonetheless.
Top Payouts for the Week Ended April 26

Wager
 Wager Amount 
 Payoff 
Track
Date
Race#

Win
 $2.00
 $116.40
PRM
4/24/15
6

Place
 $2.00
 $52.00
EVD
4/24/15
2

Show
 $2.00
 $23.00
WRD
4/20/15
5

Exacta
 $1.00
 $279.30
SA
4/25/15
8

Exacta
 $2.00
 $820.00
SUD
4/25/15
8

Quinella
 $1.00
 $50.70
TUP
4/25/15
8

Quinella
 $2.00
 $534.00
PRM
4/24/15
7

Trifecta
 $0.20
 $98.18
HAW
4/22/15
2

Trifecta
 $0.50
 $860.45
MVR
4/25/15
4

Trifecta
 $1.00
 $1,734.00
FON
4/24/15
8

Trifecta
 $2.00
 $8,214.60
LS
4/23/15
8

Superfecta
 $0.10
 $3,139.15
GP
4/25/15
6

Superfecta
 $0.20
 $763.54
HAW
4/25/15
9

Superfecta
 $0.50
 $25,027.05
PIM
4/26/15
7

Superfecta
 $1.00
 $47,671.60
WRD
4/20/15
5

Superfecta
 $2.00
 $160,432.60
PRM
4/24/15
7

Daily Double
 $1.00
 $247.80
FP
4/25/15
4

Daily Double
 $2.00
 $1,995.80
LS
4/23/15
9

Pick 3
 $0.20
 $570.64
HAW
4/26/15
8

Pick 3
 $0.50
 $5,294.90
PIM
4/26/15
7

Pick 3
 $1.00
 $4,415.30
SA
4/25/15
9

Pick 3
 $2.00
 $8,362.20
PRM
4/24/15
8

Pick 4
 $0.20
 $1,550.42
HAW
4/26/15
9

Pick 4
 $0.50
 $18,912.05
SA
4/25/15
9

Pick 4
 $1.00
 $10,799.20
GG
4/25/15
5

Pick 4
 $2.00
 $14,174.00
AQU
4/26/15
10

Pick 5
 $0.20
 $872.95
WO
4/24/15
6

Pick 5
 $0.50
 $19,562.65
GP
4/26/15
8

Pick 5
 $2.00
 $15,354.00
AQU
4/26/15
5

Pick 5 Jackpot
 $0.50
 $4,928.20
FON
4/24/15
8

Pick 6
 $1.00
 $3,253.10
HST
4/25/15
7

Pick 6
 $2.00
 $70,204.00
AQU
4/22/15
9

Pick 6 Jackpot
 $0.10
 $3,045.55
PIM
4/26/15
9

Pick 6 Jackpot
 $0.20
 $89,835.78
GP
4/22/15
8

Super High Five
 $0.10
 $385.39
LS
4/23/15
9

Super High Five
 $0.50
 $1,686.60
EVD
4/23/15
5

Super High Five
 $1.00
 $37,656.20
GP
4/26/15
8

Super High Five
 $2.00
 $1,125.40
MNR
4/25/15
9

Click here for a complete list of racetracks with abbreviations.

© 2015 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.