Breaking the Bank: Dead-Heat Delights

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)
A dead-heat is usually half a win.
It nets you half the mutuel payoffs and, if you’re a horseman, less purse money than you would have received if your horse had hit the finish line a mere inch ahead of his or her rival.
But don’t mention any of that to one highly fortunate Pick 6 player at Aqueduct who found that a tie was as good as a win.
On Nov. 9 at the Big A, fueled by a double carryover of $84,031, the Pick 6 pool surpassed $400,000. Thanks to the inclusion of winners that paid $29.40 and $24, there were some huge payoffs in play heading into the final race of the day.
One of them involved Steamboat Bill, a 7-2 shot, and when the field of 12 approached the finish line, the race boiled down to an incredible three-horse finish in which a few inches separated the trio.
Axtell, a 10-1 shot, came just a nose shy of making it a rare three-horse dead-heat.
That left it to Steamboat Bill and Silent Assassin, a 14-1 shot, who wound up in a dead-heat for the win spot.
The deadlock ushered in a second set of exotic payments, but in the Pick 6 only Steamboat Bill was covered among the two horses in the dead-heat. That meant the tie was as good as a 10-length victory, allowing one Pick 6 player to bust open the bank and collect $313,590 for a $2 ticket.
Click here for Equibase charts for Nov. 9 at Aqueduct
The Big A handed out another huge payoff on Nov. 12 in the Pick 5 on the first five races of the day.
The day opened in chalky fashion with wins by Irish Cat ($4), Lotsa Noodles ($6.40) and High Ridge Road ($5.10) that led to a measly $36.60 Pick 3 for $2.
But then Little Miss Julia ($50) won the fourth race and Prophet’s Cat ($33.20) closed out the sequence. Those two longshots accounted for a $505 double and they pumped up the Pick 5 payoff to a lucrative $32,457 for $2.
Churchill Downs was home to a parade of longshots on Nov. 14 that also shattered the bank into little pieces.
The Pick 5, fueled by wins from Isabella Sings ($56.60) and Duval St. ($27.40), returned a staggering $81,329.40 for a 50-cent ticket.
There were no favorites in that sequence as the other three winners paid $11.20, $13 and $7.40.
In particular, the day’s featured Mrs. Revere Stakes was filled with huge payoffs. Isabella Sings was followed under the wire in the Grade 2 by Rainha Da Bateria at 44-1, Devine Aida at 6-1 and Season Ticket at 49-1 which sparked a very super payoff of $63,817.90 for a $1 superfecta ticket.
The $19,029.20 trifecta and $1,799.20 exacta – both for $2 – weren’t bad, either.
Del Mar joined in on Nov. 15 with a Super High Five payout of $37,318.80 for a $1 ticket.
This week’s “How did you come up with that one?” award was presented in the second race at Charles Town on Nov. 12.
The maiden special weight affair attracted a field of 10, one of whom was Miss Simon. In her first two starts she was eighth at 64-1 and then fifth at 56-1.
She was dismissed at 44-1 in her third try, which prove to be the charm. She rallied in the final furlong and in a tight finish made her backers happy that there was not a dead-heat. She prevailed by a head and returned the full payoff, a week’s-best $90.80 for a $2 win ticket.
Highest Payouts for the Week Ended Nov. 15

Wager
 Wager Amount 
 Payoff 
Track
Date
Race#

Win
 $       2.00
 $                90.80
CT
11/12/2015
2

Place
 $       2.00
 $                64.00
CD
11/15/2015
11

Show
 $       2.00
 $                35.40
CT
11/13/2015
5

Exacta
 $       1.00
 $              396.00
DED
11/11/2015
11

Exacta
 $       2.00
 $            1,799.20
CD
11/14/2015
10

Quinella
 $       1.00
 $                58.30
TUP
11/10/2015
8

Quinella
 $       2.00
 $              165.50
AQU
11/9/2015
2

Quinella
 $       5.00
 $              284.00
GPW
11/12/2015
8

Trifecta
 $       0.20
 $              382.24
HAW
11/14/2015
5

Trifecta
 $       0.50
 $            2,235.75
PRX
11/14/2015
7

Trifecta
 $       1.00
 $          26,443.20
CT
11/11/2015
2

Trifecta
 $       2.00
 $          19,029.20
CD
11/14/2015
10

Superfecta
 $       0.10
 $            7,569.35
MVR
11/14/2015
6

Superfecta
 $       0.20
 $            1,359.90
HAW
11/14/2015
5

Superfecta
 $       1.00
 $          63,817.90
CD
11/14/2015
10

Superfecta
 $       2.00
 $            9,978.00
AQU
11/12/2015
8

Daily Double
 $       1.00
 $              455.90
DED
11/13/2015
6

Daily Double
 $       2.00
 $              602.00
CT
11/11/2015
2

Pick 3
 $       0.20
 $              512.00
HAW
11/14/2015
7

Pick 3
 $       0.50
 $            1,862.65
DED
11/14/2015
5

Pick 3
 $       1.00
 $            3,070.40
CD
11/14/2015
10

Pick 3
 $       2.00
 $            2,366.00
AQU
11/12/2015
6

Pick 4
 $       0.20
 $              849.04
HAW
11/14/2015
8

Pick 4
 $       0.50
 $          15,233.75
PRX
11/9/2015
8

Pick 4
 $       1.00
 $            8,642.20
CD
11/13/2015
10

Pick 4
 $       2.00
 $            5,649.00
AQU
11/12/2015
5

Pick 5
 $       0.20
 $          11,903.34
HAW
11/14/2015
5

Pick 5
 $       0.50
 $          81,329.40
CD
11/14/2015
12

Pick 5
 $       2.00
 $          32,457.00
AQU
11/12/2015
5

Pick 6
 $       0.10
 $            2,394.09
LRL
11/14/2015
11

Pick 6
 $       1.00
 $              930.30
TUP
11/9/2015
8

Pick 6
 $       2.00
 $        313,590.00
AQU
11/9/2015
9

Pick 6 Jackpot
 $       0.20
 $          18,119.34
HAW
11/11/2015
8

Super High Five
 $       0.50
 $          11,172.50
DED
11/14/2015
5

Super High Five
 $       1.00
 $          37,318.80
DMR
11/15/2015
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.

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.