Breaking the Bank - featuring data courtesy of Equibase - highlights the biggest scores of the past week in racing. (Photo by Eclipse Sportswire)
A couple of huge returns immediately catch the eyes when looking at the table of top payouts for the week ended March 30, but there are also a couple of other very interesting tidbits from races generated in pools not often discussed in this blog.
First, let’s tackle the big ones.
The superfecta for Race 9 on March 27 at Fair Grounds produced a $178,549 return for a $2 wager. With less than a third of that 178-grand in the entire pool, the winning tickets probably were 10-cent bets that returned a healthy, if not life-changing $8,927.45.
There were a couple of keys to the big return. The runner-up was 72.90-to-1 longshot Shainashainashaina and the third-place finisher was a 37.90-to-1 bomb named Handshakesnkisses. It also didn’t hurt that 9.80-to-1 Waiting on Mary edged 6-to-5 favorite and aptly named Beturselfrich by a neck for fourth.
The superfecta has been a pretty steady source of big payouts in the Breaking the Bank blog, which goes to show there is money to be made even on a bet that usually has a 10-cent minimum.
The other top payout for the week was the early Pick 5 at Aqueduct on March 27 that actually feature three favorites winning in a sequence that spanned from Race 1 through Race 5.
Mama Zee won the opened at 11-to-10, Dan’s Gold prevailed in the third race at 4-to-5 odds and Clearly Perfection took the fourth as the 2.15-to-1 favorite. It was the other two races that triggered a $74,433 return on a $2 wager.
In Race 2, Long Blooming Rose won at 19.20-to-1 odds with overwhelming 3-to-5 favorite Renards Lapin fading to fourth. The sequence closed with Lady Paradime winning by 5 lengths at 19.10-to-1 with 0.35-to-1 favorite U. S. S. O’Brien finishing second. It just goes to show that cashing big tickets is not always as much about finding huge longshots as it is finding vulnerable favorites.
Click here for the Equibase charts from March 27 at Aqueduct
Top Payouts for the Week Ended March 30
Wager
Wager Amount
Payoff
Track
Date
Race#
Win
$2.00
$113.20
SUN
3/25/14
4
Place
$2.00
$136.20
SUN
3/30/14
10
Show
$2.00
$80.40
SUN
3/30/14
10
Exacta
$1.00
$692.30
SUN
3/30/14
10
Exacta
$2.00
$772.00
FON
3/30/14
9
Quinella
$1.00
$127.40
TUP
3/26/14
8
Quinella
$2.00
$143.60
WRD
3/29/14
3
Trifecta
$1.00
$9,782.10
SUN
3/28/14
9
Trifecta
$2.00
$7,953.40
FG
3/27/14
9
Superfecta
$0.10
$1,907.75
GP
3/29/14
2
Superfecta
$1.00
$39,514.00
WRD
3/25/14
10
Superfecta
$2.00
$178,549.00
FG
3/27/14
9
Daily Double
$1.00
$99.00
TUP
3/26/14
5
Daily Double
$2.00
$1,081.80
TAM
3/26/14
9
Pick 3
$0.50
$109.40
BEU
3/24/14
4
Pick 3
$1.00
$9,001.60
GP
3/29/14
4
Pick 3
$2.00
$7,997.20
TAM
3/26/14
9
Pick 4
$0.50
$7,004.35
LRL
3/28/14
9
Pick 4
$1.00
$24,649.70
GP
3/29/14
5
Pick 4
$2.00
$54,764.40
TAM
3/26/14
9
Pick 5
$0.50
$19,414.05
GG
3/29/14
5
Pick 5
$1.00
$5,210.40
TAM
3/29/14
11
Pick 5
$2.00
$74,433.00
AQU
3/27/14
5
Pick 5 Jackpot
$0.50
$9,092.45
FG
3/30/14
9
Pick 6
$1.00
$3,630.60
TUP
3/29/14
8
Pick 6
$2.00
$32,202.40
SA
3/30/14
9
Pick 6 Jackpot
$0.10
$496.97
CRC
3/28/14
8
Pick 6 Jackpot
$0.20
$43,217.26
GP
3/29/14
14
Pick 6 Jackpot
$1.00
$59,785.80
SUN
3/28/14
11
Super High Five
$1.00
$42,127.10
SA
3/29/14
9
Super High Five
$2.00
$10,997.80
FG
3/26/14
9
Click here for a complete list of racetracks with abbreviations.
© 2014 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.
I always find it interesting when the top place payout of the week tops the highest win payout, so I was drawn to Race 10 at Sunland Park on March 30. The race produced the highest $2 place ($136.20), $2 show ($80.40) and $1 exacta payouts ($692.30) for the week.
Miller Who, at 74.20-to-1 the longest shot in the 12-horse field, produced the massive place and show payouts and combined with 7.20-to-1 winner Verny for a healthy exacta.
Miller Who had not won a race since May 2013 and entered the race off a last-place finish, but gelding did show a little something when third two races back.
At Tampa Bay Downs on March 26, 42-to-1 longshot Jill’s Image won the eighth race to trigger the week’s top $2 Daily Double payout, $2 Pick 3 return and $2 Pick 4 score of the week.
A $2 Daily Double with Jill’s Image and 8.50-to-1 Sarge Hudson in Race 9 paid $1,081.80 and a $2 Pick 3 with Back Away at 6.60-to-1 in Race 7 kicking off the sequence returned $7,997.20. The Pick 4 payout for Races 6-9 was even more eye opening given the opening race of the sequence was won by 2.30-to-1 Sensible Shoes. The $54,764.40 payout certainly was helped by the 42-to-1 winner of Race 8 but perhaps even more importantly there was not a single winning favorite in this Pick 4. Favorites lost at 8-to-5, 2-to-1, 2-to-1 and 7-to-5 leaving chalk players to wallow in despair and a couple of lucky bettors with very heavy wallets.
Speaking of heavy wallets, the chase for the elusive Rainbow 6 jackpot at Gulfstream Park continues with a carryover of more than $4.5-million heading into this week.
Good luck!
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.