Breaking the Bank - featuring data courtesy of Equibase - highlights the biggest scores of the past week in racing. (Arlington Park photo by Penelope P. Miller/America's Best Racing)
As dominant and majestic as Beholder may have been in winning the TVG Pacific Classic Stakes by 8 ¼ lengths as a 2-to-1 favorite, a number of other betting favorites had one of those stumblin’, bumblin’ afternoons on Aug. 22 at Del Mar.
Only Beholder and one other victorious favorite figured in the Pick 6, triggering a bank-busting payoff of $77,887.40 to deliriously happy holders of winning $2 tickets.
The improbable one in the series was Race 10 winner K Thirty Eight, who paid $25.60 for capturing her turf debut.
After that, the highest-priced winner was $14.80 (Kafister, Race 11), closely followed by the $14.60 Casino Call (Race 7) paid in a surprisingly rewarding sequence.
The other two winners that helped to unlock the combination to the vault were second-betting choice Big John B ($6.20, Race 8) in the Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap and Twentytwentyvision, who kicked off the sequence as a winning 3-to-2 favorite ($5).
Click here for the Equibase charts from Aug. 22 at Del Mar
Saratoga Race Course had its own share of longshots on the same afternoon when the Pick 4 on the last four races of the day returned a blockbuster $43,683 for $2.
Perfect Title incinerated a big pile of Pick 4 tickets when he took the ninth race and returned $38.80, though none of the other three winners paid less than $14.
The Wesley Ward-trained first-time starter Sheikh of Sheikhs started things off, paying $15.20, while the final two races went to Grade 1 Alabama Stakes winner Embellish the Lace ($14) and then Zeezee Zoomzoom ($16.80) in the finale to cap the lucrative payoff.
Woodbine and Canterbury Park also had some lucky patrons reaching their social security numbers.
At Woodbine, the superfecta on the eighth race on Aug. 21 paid $21,094.65 for $1, thanks to a trio of longshots of 20-to-1 or higher that finished 1-2-3 plus a 7.10-to-1 shot who completed the winning combination.
Canterbury produced a $17,502.60 trifecta for $1 in the sixth race on Aug. 20 when 10.30-to-1 shot Brooke Academy was sandwiched between 40.10-to-1 winner Crimsonexpectation and 65.10-to-1 third-place finisher Docs Miss Victory.
The exacta in that race was also rather substantial, paying $668.20 for $2.
The week’s “how did you come up with that one?” award went to the folks who figured out that Lil Man Will would win the sixth race on Aug. 21 at Remington Park.
Shipped in from Will Rogers Downs, Lil Man Will was second in his last start, a $22,000 allowance race on May 11. Switched over to turf for a $49,000 allowance race at Remington, he won for the first time in three tries on grass and went off at 57.20-to-1 odds to return a robust $116.40.
The rest of the exotics in the race ($818.20, $2 exacta; $4,270.80, $2 trifecta; and $1,400.89, 10-cent superfecta) weren’t shabby, either.
As the old saying goes, where there’s a will there’s a way to cash on a longshot.
Top Payouts for the Week Ended Aug. 23
Wager
Wager Amount
Payoff
Track
Date
Race#
Win
$2.00
$116.40
RP
8/21/15
6
Place
$2.00
$45.00
RP
8/21/15
6
Show
$2.00
$27.40
IND
8/19/15
6
Exacta
$1.00
$342.00
EMD
8/23/15
6
Exacta
$2.00
$820.60
RP
8/19/15
2
Quinella
$1.00
$31.75
GPR
8/21/15
3
Quinella
$2.00
$363.90
MD
8/22/15
7
Trifecta
$0.50
$8,949.40
IND
8/19/15
6
Trifecta
$1.00
$17,502.20
CBY
8/20/15
6
Trifecta
$2.00
$9,710.60
CT
8/20/15
8
Superfecta
$0.10
$13,940.75
IND
8/19/15
6
Superfecta
$0.50
$7,285.70
MNR
8/19/15
9
Superfecta
$1.00
$21,094.65
WO
8/21/15
8
Superfecta
$2.00
$28,068.20
PID
8/20/15
6
Daily Double
$1.00
$211.00
EVD
8/20/15
3
Daily Double
$2.00
$1,052.00
EMD
8/23/15
8
Pick 3
$0.50
$2,489.60
EVD
8/21/15
6
Pick 3
$1.00
$3,232.20
DMR
8/19/15
7
Pick 3
$2.00
$4,646.00
SAR
8/22/15
11
Pick 4
$0.50
$17,380.35
DMR
8/19/15
8
Pick 4
$1.00
$21,589.10
CBY
8/20/15
6
Pick 4
$2.00
$43,683.00
SAR
8/22/15
11
Pick 5
$0.20
$2,273.00
WO
8/21/15
6
Pick 5
$0.50
$38,923.70
MTH
8/22/15
12
Pick 5
$1.00
$12,329.35
NP
8/19/15
5
Pick 5
$2.00
$30,381.00
SAR
8/23/15
5
Pick 5 Jackpot
$0.50
$280.95
LAD
8/21/15
7
Pick 6
$0.10
$40,000.00
LRL
8/22/15
11
Pick 6
$0.20
$504.98
FER
8/21/15
8
Pick 6
$1.00
$1,992.20
PID
8/19/15
7
Pick 6
$2.00
$77,887.40
DMR
8/22/15
11
Pick 6 Jackpot
$0.20
$20,300.86
GP
8/21/15
10
Super High Five
$0.20
$25.14
FER
8/22/15
9
Super High Five
$0.50
$1,077.55
LRL
8/21/15
9
Super High Five
$1.00
$15,391.20
DMR
8/21/15
7
Super High Five
$2.00
$2,475.40
MNR
8/19/15
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.