Breaking the Bank: Belmont Bonanza

Breaking the Bank - featuring data courtesy of Equibase - highlights the biggest scores of the past week in racing. (Photo by Penelope P. Miller/America's Best Racing)
If a handicapper playing the Pick 5 at Belmont Park on Sept. 16 had a hunch about a horse named Subcontractor, then that clairvoyant person might have headed home with enough cash to finance the construction of a new wing to their house.
Thanks to a victory by the aforementioned Subcontractor at 41-1 odds in the second race of the day, the Pick Five paid a whopping $153,119 per $2 ticket.
Subcontractor lit the fuse for an explosive payoff in an otherwise reasonable sequence that included two horses paying $7.80 or less.
Listed at 10-1 in the morning line as he jumped from a $25,000 claimer to the $50,000 level, Subcontractor was ignored in the wagering even though he hailed from the barn of David Jacobson, one of New York’s winningest trainers, and had finished third in his last two races at Saratoga.
Prior to Subcontractor’s victory at an $84.50 mutuel, the Pick 5 opened with a victory by Bluegrass Prevails ($7.80) and then closed with wins by Day of Fury ($17), Time for Angie ($13) and Three for Me ($6.20) to break the bank with a six-figure playoff.
Belmont was the site of another huge payoff last week as a victory by Smooth Daddy at 29-1 odds on Sept. 19 in the ninth race keyed a superfecta that paid $65,739 per $2 wager (or $3,286.95 for the 10-cent minimum bet), thanks to the help of horses priced at 14-1, 11-1 and 30-1 who rounded out the order of finish.
At Kentucky Downs, it wasn’t just horsemen who were raking in stacks of cash.
With $100 winners in back-to-back races, the Pick 4 returned a ritzy $78,133.50 for a 50-cent wager on Sept. 16.
The fireworks started with the opening race as Ubiquitous Mantle, in her first start since November and initial race for trainer Michael Ewing, won the 10th race and paid a whopping $125.20.
Then in the next race, Kalamos, who had been no worse than fourth in his last five races at Indiana Grand, scored at a price of $102 for a $2 win ticket.
With those two combining for a $3,880 double, the Pick 4 was already well on its way to a massive payout.
Interject instilled some logic into the sequence, paying $4 to win as the even money favorite in the penultimate race in the sequence.
The capper was provided by Belle de Nuit, who captured the final race at $12.60 and gave one last final push to an astronomical payoff.
As a footnote, the payoffs were helped by a quartet of large fields lured to Kentucky Downs by huge purses. A total of 45 horses ran in the four races, chasing a share of a combined $525,000 in purse money.
Click here for Equibase charts for Sept. 16 at Kentucky Downs
Parx Racing was the scene of a pair of $1-million races (the Pennsylvania Derby and Cotillion) on Sept.19,  but the day also featured the week’s “How did you come up with that one?” award.
In the fourth race, 7-5 favorite Beach Hut, a winner by nearly six lengths in his last start, crossed the wire first but was disqualified for drifting in and bothering several horses.
With Beach Hut dropped to fourth by the stewards, that elevated Proper Freud into the win spot, and he was sent off at a mere 97-1 while switching from turf to dirt after a disappointing effort.
The price on the tote board was $197.20 for a $2 win ticket, more than enough to pay for a hammer and nails for someone looking to do some home improvements.

Top Payouts for the Week Ended Sept. 20

Wager
 Wager Amount 
 Payoff 
Track
Date
Race#

Win
 $2.00
 $197.20
PRX
9/19/2015
4

Place
 $2.00
 $47.40
KD
9/16/2015
10

Show
 $2.00
 $35.20
RET
9/20/2015
6

Exacta
 $1.00
 $675.60
KD
9/14/2015
4

Exacta
 $2.00
 $1,281.60
PRX
9/19/2015
4

Quinella
 $2.00
 $182.00
BEL
9/17/2015
4

Trifecta
 $0.50
 $7,116.60
PRX
9/19/2015
4

Trifecta
 $1.00
 $6,160.50
KD
9/16/2015
11

Trifecta
 $2.00
 $11,238.20
PID
9/16/2015
2

Superfecta
 $0.10
 $8,098.56
LAD
9/16/2015
6

Superfecta
 $0.50
 $10,774.70
LRL
9/19/2015
5

Superfecta
 $1.00
 $43,298.40
KD
9/14/2015
4

Superfecta
 $2.00
 $65,739.00
BEL
9/19/2015
9

Daily Double
 $2.00
 $3,880.00
KD
9/16/2015
11

Daily Double
 $1.00
 $220.40
CD
9/17/2015
6

Pick 3
 $0.50
 $3,085.85
LRL
9/18/2015
6

Pick 3
 $1.00
 $13,559.20
PRX
9/15/2015
6

Pick 3
 $2.00
 $7,692.00
BEL
9/16/2015
4

Pick 4
 $0.50
 $7,415.50
FL
9/18/2015
9

Pick 4
 $1.00
 $158,267.00
KD
9/16/2015
13

Pick 4
 $2.00
 $17,620.00
BEL
9/16/2015
5

Pick 5
 $0.20
 $3,805.35
WO
9/16/2015
6

Pick 5
 $0.50
 $41,884.10
MTH
9/19/2015
5

Pick 5
 $1.00
 $14,901.40
MNR
9/15/2015
9

Pick 5
 $2.00
 $153,119.00
BEL
9/16/2015
5

Pick 5 Jackpot
 $0.50
 $19,383.60
LAD
9/18/2015
9

Pick 6
 $0.10
 $103.58
LRL
9/20/2015
10

Pick 6
 $1.00
 $2,917.10
IND
9/15/2015
8

Pick 6
 $2.00
 $74,854.00
LRC
9/19/2015
9

Pick 6 Jackpot
 $0.20
 $10,498.44
AP
9/18/2015
8

Super High Five
 $0.20
 $9,332.20
STK
9/19/2015
11

Super High Five
 $0.50
 $2,837.75
LRL
9/20/2015
10

Super High Five
 $1.00
 $20,644.60
GP
9/19/2015
11

Super High Five
 $2.00
 $3,496.40
MNR
9/16/2015
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.

Note: The payouts are reported by individual racetracks. Sometimes the payouts are not reported at the minimum increment for the wager. When the bet is mentioned within the accompanying story, the return for a winning bet at the minimum wager increment also will be listed, however, the data in the table will always be listed as reported by the racetracks to Equibase.

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.