Breaking the Bank: A Sleigh Full of Cash
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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)
Apparently that chubby fellow in the red and white fur-trimmed suit wasn’t the only one handing out presents last week.
One festive handicapper came away with $140,827.44 for having the lone winning 10-cent wager on the Pick 6 Jackpot at Laurel Park on Dec. 27. And what made this bank-breaking score such a gift was that five of the six winners were either favorites or second choices.
The sequence started with the favored Stupefaction ($5.60) taking the fourth race. That was followed by a trio of second choices (Blame Me at $8.20, M J’s Warrior at $7 and Magic Harbor at $8) in the next three races. Together the four of them combined for a 50-cent Pick 4 that paid a mere $180.05.
Everything changed in the eighth race when Parx shipper Storm Rush, who was coming off a 12-length loss for trainer Cathal Lynch, reverted to top form and posted a 4 ½-length victory at 17-1 odds.
The merry capper for one Xpressbet customer was provided by the favored Grand Notion, who captured the ninth and final race at a $4.40 payoff. The Pick 3 on the final three races returned $1,230.60 for a $2 ticket, but with a horde of Pick 6 Jackpot players tripped up by Storm Rush, that one handicapper took home enough money to buy a truckload of eggnog. Maybe even two truckloads.
Click here for the Equibase charts from Dec. 27 at Laurel Park
On Dec. 26, when millions of Americans headed to nearby malls to exchange presents, a few handicappers celebrated Christmas a day late by unwrapping a Pick 5 worth $130,100 for a $2 ticket at Aqueduct.
That sequence started out wild with wins by Casa Gato ($26.80) and Extinct Charm ($27.40) that accounted for a $330 daily double. Then wins by Eden Ridge ($18.60) and Sassicaia ($14) set up some gargantuan will-pays that were cashed by third-choice Thirst for Glory ($8.90), who prevailed by a neck in the fifth race.
On the same afternoon at Santa Anita, the opening day card at The Great Race Place produced some fireworks in the fourth race, the $100,000 Daytona Stakes. The Grade 3 turf sprint featured a blanket finish with six horses within a length of each other and a parade of longshots under the wire.
Toowindytohaulrox, cutting back from a third in the Grade 2 Seabiscuit at a mile and a sixteenth, triumphed at 17-1 by a neck over Coastline, a Keeneland shipper who was dismissed at 52-1. Next under the wire were Rocket Heat at 41-1 and The Great War at 8-1. The 13-14-4 trifecta returned $10,851.40 for $1, which seemed light when the 13-14-4-10 superfecta lit up the toteboard for $24,476.39 for a 10-cent wager.
Tampa Bay Downs had a huge superfecta of its own on Dec. 23 when Lightness took the ninth race at a rather heavy win price of $104.20. Favored Wycombe Abbey was second at 2-1, followed by I Heart Romance at 19-1 and Sab’s Devil at 6-1 to put the finishing touches on a superfecta that paid $29,325 for a $1 ticket.
Lightness missed out on the week’s “How did you come up with that one?” award, which was presented to Nanea in the fourth race at Hawthorne on Dec. 26.
A front-running winner by 6 ¾ lengths in a $7,500 in an open maiden claimer in his previous start, the 3-year-old colt jumped up to a non-winners-of-one allowance for Illinois-breds and rallied from seventh in a field of 10 to pay an astronomical $128.60 for a neck victory.
And that’s why it’s the season to be jolly.
Top Payouts for the Week Ended Dec. 27
Wager
Wager Amount
Payoff
Track
Date
Race#
Win
$ 2.00
$ 128.60
HAW
12/26/2015
8
Place
$ 2.00
$ 47.60
GP
12/26/2015
1
Show
$ 2.00
$ 32.00
TP
12/26/2015
4
Exacta
$ 1.00
$ 762.20
SA
12/26/2015
4
Exacta
$ 2.00
$ 1,534.80
TP
12/26/2015
4
Quinella
$ 1.00
$ 73.20
TUP
12/26/2015
6
Quinella
$ 2.00
$ 60.50
AQU
12/27/2015
4
Trifecta
$ 0.20
$ 270.00
HAW
12/26/2015
8
Trifecta
$ 0.50
$ 10,376.60
MVR
12/23/2015
3
Trifecta
$ 1.00
$ 10,851.40
SA
12/26/2015
4
Trifecta
$ 2.00
$ 11,035.40
TP
12/26/2015
4
Superfecta
$ 0.10
$ 24,476.39
SA
12/26/2015
4
Superfecta
$ 0.20
$ 1,087.98
HAW
12/26/2015
8
Superfecta
$ 1.00
$ 29,325.80
TAM
12/23/2015
9
Superfecta
$ 2.00
$ 5,134.00
AQU
12/26/2015
1
Daily Double
$ 1.00
$ 825.80
DED
12/23/2015
7
Daily Double
$ 2.00
$ 555.20
GP
12/23/2015
8
Pick 3
$ 0.20
$ 319.38
HAW
12/26/2015
8
Pick 3
$ 0.50
$ 3,191.45
TP
12/26/2015
8
Pick 3
$ 1.00
$ 2,313.50
GP
12/27/2015
10
Pick 3
$ 2.00
$ 3,877.00
AQU
12/26/2015
4
Pick 4
$ 0.20
$ 7,742.90
HAW
12/26/2015
9
Pick 4
$ 0.50
$ 11,697.55
FG
12/27/2015
5
Pick 4
$ 1.00
$ 1,934.10
TAM
12/27/2015
6
Pick 4
$ 2.00
$ 7,406.00
AQU
12/26/2015
5
Pick 5
$ 0.20
$ 764.14
HAW
12/26/2015
5
Pick 5
$ 0.50
$ 22,341.75
SA
12/27/2015
5
Pick 5
$ 2.00
$ 130,100.00
AQU
12/26/2015
5
Pick 6
$ 1.00
$ 11,640.90
TUP
12/21/2015
8
Pick 6
$ 2.00
$ 46,313.60
SA
12/26/2015
9
Pick 6 Jackpot
$ 0.10
$ 140,827.44
LRL
12/27/2015
9
Pick 6 Jackpot
$ 0.20
$ 6,367.54
GP
12/23/2015
10
Super High Five
$ 0.50
$ 5,958.25
FG
12/21/2015
9
Super High Five
$ 1.00
$ 24,258.10
GP
12/26/2015
11
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.