Breaking the Bank: Legion of Longshots

Breaking the Bank - featuring data courtesy of Equibase - highlights the biggest scores of the past week in racing. (Photo by Meg McMahon)
There are dozens of reasons why wagering terminals have an “all” button.
One of them involves a horse like Snake Oil Charlie.
If you thought he would win the fourth race at Belmont Park on June 20, your first name had to be Clair and your last name Voyant.
In his six career starts, the 3-year-old colt had never finished better than sixth or closer to the winner than 11 ¾ lengths.
That’s hardly a textbook reason for a sizeable wager.
Yet if you were playing the Pick 5 at Belmont Park and decided to hit the “all” button for the fourth race, you could have broken bank and headed home with a $144,586 payoff thanks to “Charlie.”
Sent off at 52-1 odds, Snake Oil Charlie paid $107 for his improbable one-length victory that fattened up a winning sequence which included two winning favorites: Love to Run ($4), who won the first race as an even-money favorite, and Charming Kitten ($4.40) who took the third as a 6-5 choice.
Adding even more punch to the payoff were Corner Three ($21) in the second race and then Syntax ($18) in the fifth and final race.
Add in one “all” button and you had the ticket for one rather dazzling summer vacation.
A day later, handicappers at Santa Anita constructed their own path to a six-figure payoff.
This time, a far more fathomable 14-1 shot lit the fuse to a $111,992.20 pick six for a $2 wager.
Ground Rules ($30.60) in the ninth and final race capped an otherwise logical sequence that featured two favorites and five horses at odds of 5-1 or less. Considering the payoffs were $11.80, $10.20, $5.60, $4.60 and $13.40, Ground Rules’ victory in a maiden special weight affair was a highly welcomed addition to a payoff that stretched into rather ritzy territory because of that final leg.
The late pick four at Churchill Downs on June 21 also illustrated the immense value of using a longshot – or the “all” button. Thanks in large part to Tapidor taking the ninth and penultimate race at 30-1 odds, the Pick 4 was inflated to a huge $48,545.40 for a $1 wager with some help from Deliverance Day ($15), King Ptolemy ($12.20) and first-time starter Limousine Liberal ($12).
Finally, this week’s “how did you come up with that one?” award had roots that spilled into several other exotic payoffs that topped this week’s charts.
It all started with Lewis Henry, who took the sixth race at Monmouth Park on June 19 and paid a robust $152.60 for rebounding from a sixth-place finish at 69-1 odds at the same claiming level.
With that unlikely 75-1 shot in the top spot, the race also accounted for the week’s top payoff for an exacta ($2,122.60), trifecta ($8,224.60) and superfecta ($58,347).
Rest assured, someone who cashed one of those tickets probably had the “all” button to thank for it.
Top Payouts for the Week Ended June 21

Wager
 Wager Amount 
 Payoff 
Track
Date
Race#

Win
 $2.00
 $152.60
MTH
6/19/15
6

Place
 $2.00
 $59.50
FL
6/19/15
4

Show
 $2.00
 $24.80
IND
6/17/15
8

Exacta
 $1.00
 $529.60
EVD
6/20/15
5

Exacta
 $2.00
 $2,122.60
MTH
6/19/15
6

Quinella
 $2.00
 $296.80
ARP
6/20/15
9

Trifecta
 $0.50
 $2,981.45
EVD
6/20/15
5

Trifecta
 $1.00
 $8,224.50
MTH
6/19/15
6

Trifecta
 $2.00
 $11,410.40
CT
6/20/15
3

Superfecta
 $0.10
 $9,427.86
EVD
6/20/15
5

Superfecta
 $1.00
 $58,347.00
MTH
6/19/15
6

Superfecta
 $2.00
 $28,167.80
PRM
6/18/15
8

Daily Double
 $1.00
 $336.00
CBY
6/19/15
4

Daily Double
 $2.00
 $1,568.00
MTH
6/19/15
7

Pick 3
 $0.50
 $2,268.90
EVD
6/20/15
5

Pick 3
 $1.00
 $4,049.00
MTH
6/19/15
8

Pick 3
 $2.00
 $19,719.00
BEL
6/20/15
6

Pick 4
 $0.50
 $13,169.10
MNR
6/21/15
9

Pick 4
 $1.00
 $48,545.40
CD
6/21/15
10

Pick 4
 $2.00
 $19,081.60
PRM
6/20/15
9

Pick 5
 $0.20
 $1,188.20
WO
6/20/15
6

Pick 5
 $0.50
 $14,251.65
MTH
6/20/15
12

Pick 5
 $1.00
 $9,398.45
NP
6/19/15
5

Pick 5
 $2.00
 $144,586.00
BEL
6/20/15
5

Pick 5 Jackpot
 $0.50
 $43,504.50
LAD
6/20/15
8

Pick 6
 $0.20
 $32,345.16
AP
6/19/15
8

Pick 6
 $1.00
 $9,703.20
IND
6/19/15
8

Pick 6
 $2.00
 $111,992.20
SA
6/21/15
9

Pick 6 Jackpot
 $0.20
 $11,756.66
LS
6/20/15
9

Super High Five
 $0.10
 $450.49
LS
6/18/15
9

Super High Five
 $0.50
 $2,548.85
MNR
6/21/15
9

Super High Five
 $1.00
 $10,999.90
SA
6/21/15
9

Super High Five
 $2.00
 $1,591.20
OTP
6/20/15
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.