Breaking the Bank: Big-Money Mother’s Day

Breaking the Bank - featuring data courtesy of Equibase - highlights the biggest scores of the past week in racing. (Belmont photo by Eclipse Sportswire)
It should come as absolutely no surprise at all that last week’s biggest windfall of cash was set in motion by a filly who not only broke the bank on Mother’s Day, she shattered it into little pieces.
The setting was the Big Apple on Sunday, May 10 when the Pick 5 to open the card at Belmont Park generated a lovely $128,083 return for a $2 wager – enough money to buy a 24K gold Mother’s Day card.
The mother of all longshots was Susie’s a Cowgirl, a 4-year-old maiden who captured the fifth and final race in the sequence as a completely overlooked 66.75-to-1 longshot in the wagering.
Other than removing blinkers, there was little to recommend in the daughter of Cowtown Cat. In six career starts, she finished better than sixth only once, and that was a distant fourth-place finish, beaten by 16 lengths. Trained by former jockey Robbie Davis, she lost her last two starts by a combined margin of 34 ¼ lengths, so she picked a highly opportune time to make her momma proud.
Aside from Susie’s a Cowgirl, the rest of the sequence was also tricky. There was only one winning favorite ($5.50 Dekalb County in the fourth race) and the rest of the payoffs lit up the toteboard at $11.20, $6.70 and $15.80.
Click here for Equibase charts from May 10 at Belmont Park
A day earlier, one lucky gambler at Golden Gate Fields was able to buy his or her mother a knapsack filled with diamonds as the Golden Pick 6 Jackpot was hit, paying $54,746.36 for a 20-cent wager.
The sequence was capped by Solomon Bay, who took the ninth race finale at 5.60-to-1 odds. The rest of the winners on the 6-for-6 ticket included only one favorite and featured payoffs of $12.80, $9, $10.60, $6.40 and  $7.
Santa Anita Park provided an early Mother’s Day present of its own on May 9 with a $64,255 Pick 6 payoff that was capped by a pretty good hunch bet, 13.70-to-1 shot Momma Tried.
The other prices in the sequence were $5.80, $11.20, $6.80, $18.60 and $5, with two favorites included in the bunch.
This week’s “how did you come up with that one?” award went to Cook Inlet, who captured the ninth race at Santa Anita on Mother’s Day at 67.90-to-1 odds. The 7-year-old gelding was a combined 0-for-12 in 2015 and 2014 and was no closer than fifth in his last five tries, succinctly explaining why he paid a week’s best $137.80 for a $2 win ticket.
He wasn’t a filly or a mare, but on Mother’s Day he topped a $7,487.70 trifecta, which, in keeping with the theme of the weekend, amounted to a Queen’s Ransom.
Top Payouts for the Week Ended May 10

Wager
 Wager Amount 
 Payoff 
Track
Date
Race#

Win
 $2.00
 $137.80
SA
5/10/15
9

Place
 $2.00
 $62.00
BEL
5/9/15
10

Show
 $2.00
 $39.00
AP
5/8/15
4

Exacta
 $1.00
 $344.20
SA
5/10/15
9

Exacta
 $2.00
 $1,091.00
CT
5/7/15
2

Quinella
 $1.00
 $44.40
TUP
5/5/15
7

Quinella
 $2.00
 $186.40
PRM
5/7/15
7

Trifecta
 $0.50
 $1,336.85
IND
5/9/15
1

Trifecta
 $1.00
 $7,487.70
SA
5/10/15
9

Trifecta
 $2.00
 $9,592.00
BEL
5/10/15
5

Superfecta
 $0.10
 $4,256.66
LAD
5/7/15
7

Superfecta
 $0.50
 $11,730.85
MNR
5/5/15
5

Superfecta
 $1.00
 $34,140.70
SA
5/10/15
9

Superfecta
 $2.00
 $33,222.00
BEL
5/9/15
10

Daily Double
 $1.00
 $426.00
CD
5/7/15
7

Daily Double
 $2.00
 $2,048.00
LAD
5/7/15
7

Pick 3
 $0.50
 $1,086.05
LAD
5/7/15
7

Pick 3
 $1.00
 $2,169.70
AP
5/10/15
3

Pick 3
 $2.00
 $3,356.00
BEL
5/10/15
5

Pick 4
 $0.50
 $8,485.55
SA
5/10/15
9

Pick 4
 $1.00
 $15,331.50
GP
5/10/15
8

Pick 4
 $2.00
 $14,849.40
PRM
5/9/15
9

Pick 5
 $0.20
 $413.55
WO
5/10/15
6

Pick 5
 $0.50
 $34,643.35
CD
5/7/15
8

Pick 5
 $1.00
 $1,008.50
HPO
5/8/15
5

Pick 5
 $2.00
 $128,083.00
BEL
5/10/15
5

Pick 5 Jackpot
 $0.50
 $5,352.40
LAD
5/6/15
7

Pick 6
 $0.20
 $1,936.90
HPO
5/9/15
6

Pick 6
 $1.00
 $76,932.35
HST
5/9/15
7

Pick 6
 $2.00
 $64,255.00
SA
5/9/15
9

Pick 6 Jackpot
 $0.10
 $8,682.78
PIM
5/9/15
9

Pick 6 Jackpot
 $0.20
 $54,746.36
GG
5/9/15
9

Super High Five
 $0.10
 $232.38
LS
5/10/15
10

Super High Five
 $0.50
 $3,227.05
MNR
5/10/15
9

Super High Five
 $1.00
 $53,469.30
SA
5/9/15
9

Super High Five
 $2.00
 $2,013.40
MNR
5/6/15
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.