Breaking the Bank: California Craziness

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)
There’s a Yiddish term known as “mishegas” which basically means craziness.
At Santa Anita on Oct. 3, a dose of Mishegas produced some craziness, zaniness and a new lifestyle for one highly fortunate Pick 5 player.
Thanks to the impetus of a shocking victory by 33-1 shot Mishegas in the fifth and final race in the sequence, the Pick 5 on the day’s first five races broke the bank with a staggering $402,424.55 return for a mere 50-cent wager.
As much of a head-scratcher as Mishegas’ victory may have been – he was sixth in his first two career starts – the robust $68.40 payout on the 2-year-old gelding wasn’t even the biggest price in the sequence.
That honor went to Mesa Sky, who won the fourth race at 38-1 odds and paid a surprising $78.80 for a horse with past performance that offered some reason for optimism. Though Mesa Sky was seventh last time out on the turf, he was returning to dirt, where he was third as a 7-5 favorite in his career debut at Los Alamitos.
For those who could not connect on the Pick 5 – which was basically everyone but one fortunate soul – the $2 double combining Mesa Sky and Mishegas was a rather nice consolation prize as it returned a juicy $2,670.
Prior to Mesa Sky and Mishegas there was yet another longshot as Corps de Ballet paid $33.20 for winning the third race.
The parade of longshots followed a rather formful start to the day as Hail Mary Play ($13) and Wild Street Party ($5.20) kicked off what would wind up being a massive $402,424.55 Pick 5 payday.
Those five races also had wallets overflowing with cash for those who cashed on other wagers as they produced a Pick 4 on races two through five paid a tax bracket-shifting $31,250.50 for a 50-cent wager.
Even more surprising than the three winners themselves was the relatively paltry Pick 3 payoff for horses that paid $33.20, $78.80 and $68.40 to win. That 1-8-1 combination returned just $4,286.20 for $1.
Meanwhile, the Pick 3 ending in the sixth race, which was won by No Silent at a $15.80 mutuel, came back $24,527.60, and the Pick 3 capped by the seventh race returned the biggest windfall of all, with No Kidding bringing down the curtain on a sequence that paid $30,175.30.
Click here for Equibase charts for Oct. 3 at Santa Anita Park
While Santa Anita having its parade of longshots, the week’s “How did you come up with that one?” award was bestowed north of the border at Woodbine on Oct. 2.
The ninth race was a $6,250 claimer with a bulky field of 12 and Yer Blues, who had finished fifth and seventh for a cheaper claiming tag at Fort Erie, was sent off at odds of 62-1.
But the 5-year-old gelding, who had posted three of his four career wins at Woodbine, responded positively to the change of scenery and registered a two-length victory, paying a week’s-best $126.40.
Judging by that mutuel payout, apparently the mishegas wasn’t limited to California last week.

Top Payouts for the Week Ended Oct. 4

Wager
 Wager Amount 
 Payoff 
Track
Date
Race#

Win
 $2.00
 $126.40
WO
10/2/2015
9

Place
 $2.00
 $79.40
NP
10/3/2015
3

Show
 $2.00
 $65.80
MNR
10/3/2015
6

Exacta
 $1.00
 $382.30
SA
10/3/2015
4

Exacta
 $2.00
 $2,063.40
RP
9/30/2015
6

Quinella
 $2.00
 $100.00
BEL
10/3/2015
2

Trifecta
 $0.20
 $181.92
HAW
10/2/2015
6

Trifecta
 $0.50
 $4,061.70
IND
9/29/2015
2

Trifecta
 $1.00
 $4,854.60
MED
10/1/2015
5

Trifecta
 $2.00
 $4,869.60
LRL
10/3/2015
10

Superfecta
 $0.10
 $4,854.60
PRX
9/28/2015
4

Superfecta
 $0.20
 $715.54
HAW
10/2/2015
6

Superfecta
 $0.50
 $12,099.15
LRL
10/3/2015
10

Superfecta
 $1.00
 $131,297.20
MED
10/1/2015
2

Superfecta
 $2.00
 $67,524.60
PID
9/28/2015
4

Daily Double
 $1.00
 $193.25
FL
10/3/2015
5

Daily Double
 $2.00
 $2,670.00
SA
10/3/2015
5

Pick 3
 $0.20
 $54.90
HAW
10/3/2015
9

Pick 3
 $0.50
 $4,383.55
IND
9/29/2015
6

Pick 3
 $1.00
 $30,175.30
SA
10/3/2015
7

Pick 3
 $2.00
 $3,167.00
KEE
10/3/2015
6

Pick 4
 $0.20
 $242.68
HAW
10/3/2015
9

Pick 4
 $0.50
 $31,250.50
SA
10/3/2015
5

Pick 4
 $1.00
 $19,062.90
WO
9/30/2015
7

Pick 4
 $2.00
 $3,492.00
BEL
10/3/2015
5

Pick 5
 $0.20
 $1,178.75
WO
10/3/2015
6

Pick 5
 $0.50
 $402,424.55
SA
10/3/2015
5

Pick 5
 $1.00
 $28,700.10
DEL
9/28/2015
7

Pick 5
 $2.00
 $10,775.00
BEL
10/3/2015
5

Pick 6
 $0.10
 $10,768.65
LRL
10/4/2015
10

Pick 6
 $0.20
 $804.22
GG
10/1/2015
7

Pick 6
 $1.00
 $20,639.60
PID
9/28/2015
7

Pick 6
 $2.00
 $25,106.00
BEL
9/30/2015
9

Pick 6 Jackpot
 $0.20
 $40,693.64
GP
10/3/2015
12

Super High Five
 $0.50
 $2,968.80
LRL
10/2/2015
6

Super High Five
 $1.00
 $23,965.50
SA
10/3/2015
10

Super High Five
 $2.00
 $3,897.40
MNR
9/30/2015
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.