Breaking the Bank: Big Scores Coast to Coast

Breaking the Bank - featuring data courtesy of Equibase - highlights the biggest scores of the past week in racing. (Saratoga photo by Eclipse Sportswire)
Thanks to some help from a Gangster, a number of clairvoyant handicappers came away with quite a steal last week, carting off a bank-busting $89,758 per $2 wager for hitting the Pick 5 at Saratoga Race Course on July 31.
Best of all, it was completely legal.
The payoff became ludicrous when Gangster captured the fifth and final race at odds of 21.30-to-1, which was head-shaking when you considered his connections.
Fourth at 2.20-to-1 odds in his only other start, Gangster is trained by none other than 11-time leading Saratoga trainer and seven-time Eclipse Award winner Todd Pletcher. Once the 3-year-old colt stole his maiden race and sealed the huge Pick 5 payoff, it surely seemed fair to ask what was more improbable: an $89,758 Pick 5 or seeing a $44.60 winner trained by Pletcher.
Tough call there.
Helping matters was Desert Valentine, whose last win came at Saratoga on Aug. 13., 2014. She captured the third race and returned $36.40 to help push the payout into five-digit territory.
The rest of the sequence included Great Attack ($8.60), Killarney Rose ($15.20) and Smart Transition ($6.30) in the Curlin Stakes.
Click here for Equibase charts from July 31 at Saratoga
Longshot players surfing for a big payoff at Del Mar found a perfect wave on Aug. 1 when the Pick 5 returned an astonishing $81,878.70 for a winning ticket at the 50-cent minumum.
When Bully Pulpit bossed around nine fellow maidens and paid $47.80 in the fifth race, it sealed a run of five straight non-favorites and gave some sharp handicappers a reason to add some extra zeroes onto a deposit ticket at their neighborhood bank.
The improbable winning sequence started with China Girl Lover, who won for trainer Dan Hendricks off a layoff of a little more than a year and paid $33.80, and then kept on rolling with Accelerant ($12), Peacenluvpeacenluv ($21) and Little Emma ($15) before Bully Pulpit got in the final word.
Click here for Equibase charts from Aug. 1 at Del Mar
Pick 6 players got their chance to rake in stacks of cash in Arlington Park’s Pick 6 on July 31. The reward there for clicking on a six-pack of winners was a thirst-quenching $61,285.70 for a $1 ticket.
The winning ticket featured four winners that paid $8.40 or less, including a favorite that paid $4.80. Distant Dream won the fifth race at $27.80 to spice up the sequence and Queen of Chicago struck at 25.50-to-1 to close the Pick 6. Four chalky results removed the risk of another carryover and a pair of longshots put more than $60,000 into the pockets of a fortunate bettor.
This week’s “how did you come up with that one?” award was handed out in an unlikely setting. The latest recipient was not a claimer who turned in a shocking effort but rather a horse who ran in a $200,000 stakes at Mountaineer Casino Racetrack and Resort.
Looks to Spare came into the West Virginia Governor’s Stakes with a modest record. He was coming off a seventh-place finish on turf in the Grade 3 Arlington Handicap and making his first start on the main track since finishing second in an allowance race for Illinois-breds in April.
Ignored at the betting windows and sent off at 74.30-to-1 odds in a field that included 2014 Kentucky Derby runner-up Commanding Curve, Looks to Spare turned in the best race of his career and pulled away in the stretch to win by 2 ½ lengths and pay a week’s best $150.60 for a $2 win ticket.
For those who saw a silver lining in those gloomy past performances, they no doubt headed home with cash to spare.
Top Payouts for the Week Ended Aug.2

Wager
 Wager Amount 
 Payoff 
Track
Date
Race#

Win
 $2.00
 $150.60
MNR
8/1/15
7

Place
 $2.00
 $45.40
DMR
8/1/15
2

Show
 $2.00
 $45.60
PRM
8/2/15
8

Exacta
 $1.00
 $212.20
DMR
8/1/15
2

Exacta
 $2.00
 $1,152.00
SAR
7/29/15
8

Quinella
 $1.00
 $1.50
LA
8/1/15
5

Quinella
 $2.00
 $285.40
DMR
8/1/15
2

Trifecta
 $0.50
 $3,384.30
PRX
8/2/15
6

Trifecta
 $1.00
 $1,732.20
DMR
7/29/15
8

Trifecta
 $2.00
 $8,050.80
MNR
8/1/15
7

Superfecta
 $0.10
 $34,745.50
SAR
7/29/15
8

Superfecta
 $0.50
 $11,986.65
MNR
8/1/15
2

Superfecta
 $1.00
 $21,437.00
WO
7/29/15
3

Superfecta
 $2.00
 $28,428.00
SAR
8/1/15
6

Daily Double
 $1.00
 $193.75
FL
8/1/15
5

Daily Double
 $2.00
 $3,359.00
PEN
8/1/15
4

Pick 3
 $0.50
 $2,759.50
FL
8/1/15
5

Pick 3
 $1.00
 $6,924.05
WO
7/29/15
5

Pick 3
 $2.00
 $4,470.20
MNR
8/1/15
9

Pick 4
 $0.50
 $8,466.25
LRL
8/2/15
8

Pick 4
 $1.00
 $17,748.20
SR
7/30/15
4

Pick 4
 $2.00
 $21,462.00
SAR
7/31/15
5

Pick 5
 $0.20
 $2,999.40
WO
7/29/15
6

Pick 5
 $0.50
 $81,878.70
DMR
8/1/15
5

Pick 5
 $1.00
 $18,042.40
MNR
8/1/15
9

Pick 5
 $2.00
 $89,758.00
SAR
7/31/15
5

Pick 5 Jackpot
 $0.50
 $2,907.80
LAD
7/30/15
7

Pick 6
 $0.10
 $243.41
LRL
8/2/15
8

Pick 6
 $1.00
 $61,285.70
AP
7/31/15
8

Pick 6
 $2.00
 $72,917.60
DMR
7/31/15
8

Pick 6 Jackpot
 $0.20
 $14,717.90
MTH
8/1/15
11

Super High Five
 $0.50
 $27,369.50
DMR
7/29/15
8

Super High Five
 $1.00
 $10,455.70
GP
7/30/15
9

Super High Five
 $2.00
 $2,679.60
MNR
8/2/15
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.