Breaking the Bank: High Fives

Breaking the Bank - featuring data courtesy of Equibase - highlights the biggest scores of the past week in racing. (Photo by Eclipse Sportswire)
There were high fives aplenty on Oct. 10 at Gulfstream Park West and Santa Anita Park thanks to the Super High Five – not to mention the sound of some bottles of champagne popping open.
Handicappers at both tracks were busy breaking the bank that day with some amazing six-figure payoffs in the Super High Five wagers.
At Gulfstream Park West, aka Calder, the handicapper wise enough to punch out a 9-6-4-11-8 ticket was rewarded with a huge payoff of $127,569.70 for just a 50-cent ticket.
Having Palace Gate, the 8-5 favorite in the field of 11, finish last put everything in motion for the gargantuan payoff.
Heart Doctor, dropping in claiming price off an unusually weak effort, kicked it off, winning by a length and three quarters at 5-1 odds. After that came horses at odds of 15-1, 10-1, 17-1 and 26-1 to account for the six-figure payoff.
Even the superfecta on that day had to generate some high-fives and pats on the back with a $1,236.15 return for a 10-cent bet.
Click here for Equibase charts for Oct. 10 at Gulfstream Park West
At Santa Anita that same day, the Super High Five on the final race saw the 6-5 favorite, Turnover, finish in a dead heat for sixth to set up some huge payouts. Incline Village, who added blinkers and dropped into a claimer, took it from there by notching a 25-1 upset to ignite some massive payoffs for exotic wagers.
After Incline Village came horses at 11-1, 15-1, 6-1 and 7-1 to comprise a Super High Five that paid a whopping $114,887 for a $1 ticket.
Santa Anita handicappers also pulverized the bank on Oct. 9 when the Pick 6 returned $125,264.80 for a $2 ticket.
The winning sequence was difficult but hitting it was hardly an impossible mission as the six winners were lumped in the moderate price range of a high of $13.40 and a low of $8.80.
Belmont Park had a couple of memorable payouts during the week, starting with a $3,345 payoff for each winning 10-cent superfecta in the ninth race on Oct. 9.
First-time starter Flynn Bug triggered the fireworks by finishing third at 60-1 odds for trainer David Cannizzo. The rest of the sequence included a $17.80 winner followed by a 12-1 shot in second and a 7-1 shot in fourth.
No one was tossing back the trifecta in that race, either, as it paid $5,183 for $2.
The following day at beautiful Belmont, hitting the Pick 5 netted sharpies $83,692 per each $2 bet.
No Texting ignited the huge payday by winning the fourth race at $26.20 and then mixed with winners paying $8.40, $15.80, $11.40 and $7.80 to seal the deal on a memorable score.
Meanwhile, the “how did you come up with that one?” award was presented in the sixth race at Belterra on Oct. 9.
Rebecca’s Raven had lost in her last five races by about 106 lengths, but came to life in a $5,000 claimer and posted a front-running victory at 69-1 odds or $140.80 for a $2 win ticket.
Just a guess, but there were probably quite a few high fives after her victory, too.
Top Payouts for the Week Ended Oct. 11

Wager
 Wager Amount 
 Payoff 
Track
Date
Race#

Win
 $2.00
 $140.80
BTP
10/9/2015
6

Place
 $2.00
 $55.50
LBG
10/11/2015
8

Show
 $2.00
 $46.30
LBG
10/9/2015
6

Exacta
 $1.00
 $300.20
DEL
10/10/2015
3

Exacta
 $2.00
 $1,119.00
PRX
10/6/2015
5

Quinella
 $2.00
 $244.50
BEL
10/8/2015
4

Trifecta
 $0.20
 $224.12
HAW
10/6/2015
6

Trifecta
 $0.50
 $1,915.05
PRX
10/10/2015
9

Trifecta
 $1.00
 $3,998.10
SA
10/9/2015
5

Trifecta
 $2.00
 $8,134.00
KEE
10/11/2015
4

Superfecta
 $0.10
 $5,950.80
LRL
10/11/2015
7

Superfecta
 $0.20
 $1,884.80
HAW
10/6/2015
6

Superfecta
 $0.50
 $12,736.50
LRL
10/10/2015
1

Superfecta
 $1.00
 $71,206.90
LRL
10/10/2015
10

Superfecta
 $2.00
 $66,916.00
BEL
10/9/2015
9

Daily Double
 $1.00
 $289.50
TDN
10/7/2015
8

Daily Double
 $2.00
 $2,477.20
GPW
10/7/2015
7

Pick 3
 $0.20
 $256.86
HAW
10/9/2015
7

Pick 3
 $0.50
 $1,643.80
IND
10/7/2015
10

Pick 3
 $1.00
 $5,852.00
GPW
10/10/2015
10

Pick 3
 $2.00
 $6,645.60
KEE
10/11/2015
5

Pick 4
 $0.20
 $3,772.60
HAW
10/9/2015
8

Pick 4
 $0.50
 $5,660.75
MNR
10/10/2015
9

Pick 4
 $1.00
 $44,156.80
GPW
10/10/2015
10

Pick 4
 $2.00
 $27,337.00
BEL
10/11/2015
10

Pick 5
 $0.20
 $6,993.15
WO
10/11/2015
6

Pick 5
 $0.50
 $29,446.05
KEE
10/8/2015
9

Pick 5
 $1.00
 $7,811.60
MED
10/8/2015
6

Pick 5
 $2.00
 $83,692.00
BEL
10/10/2015
5

Pick 6
 $0.10
 $1,140.32
LRL
10/9/2015
11

Pick 6
 $1.00
 $9,097.90
IND
10/9/2015
8

Pick 6
 $2.00
 $125,264.80
SA
10/9/2015
8

Pick 6 Jackpot
 $0.20
 $3,985.90
GPW
10/11/2015
10

Super High Five
 $0.20
 $559.96
FNO
10/8/2015
8

Super High Five
 $0.50
 $127,569.70
GPW
10/10/2015
10

Super High Five
 $1.00
 $114,887.00
SA
10/10/2015
10

Super High Five
 $2.00
 $545.80
MNR
10/5/2015
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.