Breaking the Bank: Sunshine State Windfall

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)
That glittering pot of gold at the end of the rainbow in Florida was once again transferred into someone’s bank account.
One razor-sharp handicapper shattered the bank on Sept. 27 by assembling an array of 20-cent wagers on a ticket totaling $64.80 that accounted for the sole winning Rainbow Pick 6 Jackpot ticket that returned a staggering $130,712 plus 80-cents to boot at Gulfstream Park.
It was a neck victory by 6-1 shot Arte Latino over 7-5 favorite Wild Cat Magic that sealed the deal and left just one ticket standing in the pool, yet a couple of earlier races surely whittled down the number of live tickets to a precious few.
The sequence started with a victory by even-money favorite Didnotmeanit, but then a pair of 14-1 shots - Gotcha Key in the seventh race and Strong Composition in the eighth race - kicked up the payoff.
The ninth race saw even more pari-mutuel carnage when Silver Sassy, coming off a pair of eighth-place finishes, crossed the finish line first and paid a whopping $74.
Flutterby ($5), bred, owned and trained by 94-year-old Jerry Bozzo, sprinkled some chalk into the sequence in the 10th race, but then Arte Latino, coming off a maiden win, made it two wins in a row and made one person deliriously happy.
Click here for Equibase charts for Sept. 27 at Gulfstream Park
There was another joyous soul at Monmouth Park on Sept. 26 when one handicapper hit the Pick 5 for $39,313.45 for a 50-cent wager.
The demanding sequence mixed a single, odds-on winner at a $2.80 mutuel with horses at 6-1, 9-2, 11-1 and 23-1 to form the massive payday at the Jersey Shore.
Belmont Park also handed out large piles of cash to the wise handicappers who nailed the Pick 6 on Sept. 27.
Thanks to horses that paid $7.20, $6.40, $3.20, $9.70, $19.80 and $6.20, the Pick 6 returned a highly generous $54,732 for a $2 wager.
The “How did you come up with that one?” award was presented at Remington Park in the ninth and final race on Sept. 26.
Little Ginger had lost by 30 ¾ lengths in her last two starts, but a switch to turf for her debut on grass was the proper spice for her as she posted a front-running half-length win at preposterous 101-1 odds to pay an absolutely huge $204 for each $2 win bet on her.
Apparently, in the search for longshot winners, a Little Ginger can go a long way.
Top Payouts for the Week Ended Sept. 27

Wager
 Wager Amount 
 Payoff 
Track
Date
Race#

Win
 $2.00
 $204.00
RP
9/26/2015
9

Place
 $2.00
 $58.20
MNR
9/27/2015
7

Show
 $2.00
 $33.80
IND
9/25/2015
6

Exacta
 $1.00
 $818.20
AP
9/26/2015
9

Exacta
 $2.00
 $1,362.60
RP
9/26/2015
9

Quinella
 $2.00
 $123.00
BEL
9/27/2015
4

Trifecta
 $0.50
 $7,275.20
IND
9/23/2015
5

Trifecta
 $1.00
 $15,432.60
RP
9/26/2015
5

Trifecta
 $2.00
 $14,366.20
CD
9/25/2015
9

Superfecta
 $0.10
 $17,400.86
RP
9/26/2015
9

Superfecta
 $0.20
 $42.72
LBG
9/25/2015
7

Superfecta
 $0.50
 $13,053.20
MNR
9/23/2015
9

Superfecta
 $1.00
 $35,708.40
CD
9/25/2015
9

Superfecta
 $2.00
 $126,644.40
PID
9/27/2015
7

Daily Double
 $1.00
 $536.30
CD
9/25/2015
9

Daily Double
 $2.00
 $2,417.00
CT
9/24/2015
8

Pick 3
 $0.50
 $763.05
IND
9/22/2015
6

Pick 3
 $1.00
 $12,043.70
GP
9/26/2015
5

Pick 3
 $2.00
 $9,800.20
CT
9/24/2015
8

Pick 4
 $0.50
 $15,773.70
GP
9/26/2015
5

Pick 4
 $1.00
 $68,951.20
RP
9/26/2015
9

Pick 4
 $2.00
 $5,066.40
MNR
9/27/2015
9

Pick 5
 $0.20
 $913.15
WO
9/23/2015
6

Pick 5
 $0.50
 $39,913.45
MTH
9/26/2015
5

Pick 5
 $1.00
 $23,959.30
DEL
9/23/2015
7

Pick 5
 $2.00
 $19,986.00
BEL
9/23/2015
5

Pick 6
 $0.10
 $702.96
LRL
9/25/2015
10

Pick 6
 $1.00
 $2,376.00
IND
9/24/2015
8

Pick 6
 $2.00
 $54,732.00
BEL
9/27/2015
10

Pick 6 Jackpot
 $0.20
 $130,712.80
GP
9/27/2015
11

Super High Five
 $0.50
 $12,134.20
LRL
9/26/2015
11

Super High Five
 $1.00
 $27,647.35
FE
9/27/2015
8

Super High Five
 $2.00
 $3,053.60
MNR
9/21/2015
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.