Breaking the Bank: South Florida Pot of Gold
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Breaking the Bank - featuring data courtesy of Equibase - highlights the biggest scores of the past week in racing. (Photo by Eclipse Sportswire)
There was a rainbow in the skies above Oregon last week and for one wise handicapper a glimpse of it was worth a quarter of a million bucks.
After nine days without a lone winning ticket being cashed, a carryover of $168,000 sparked a gargantuan payoff of $262,634.84 for that highly fortunate bettor who connected on the Rainbow Pick 6 Jackpot at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 7.
That single 20-cent ticket which broke the bank wide open was wagered through United Tote in Portland, Oregon, and was part of a $1,024 ticket that consisted of a 4 x 4 x 4 x 4 x 4 x 5 play.
Surviving the first leg was tricky as the class-dropping Lakota Warrior prevailed at $22.60 but the second race of the sequence and sixth race of the day was a free square as Deep Sea, coming off runner-up finish in his career debut at Churchill Downs, cruised as a 1-5 favorite, paying a miniscule $2.40.
A couple of longshots followed – Cowgirl Tough ($22.60) and Tela ($37.80) – before the favored First Girl ($5.80) took the penultimate race in the sequence.
Having an extra runner in the final race as opposed to the four that were used in the opening five legs came in handy as it provided coverage of five of the 11 horses in the field. One of the six that went uncovered was the 8-5 favorite Hudson River Gal, who was involved in a three-horse photo finish.
It was a tough stretch duel to sweat out but well worth the heart palpitations as the winning ticket included the first and third finishers. Best of all, the winner, who was ninth at the eighth pole, was Godolphin Racing’s Villa Savoye who sprang a 38-1 upset and paid a robust $78 for her victory by a head.
The Rainbow Pick 6 Jackpot was not the only six-figure payoff triggered by Villa Savoye. The Pick 4 on the day’s final four races paid an astronomical $104,376.15 for 50-cents to one fortunate handicapper.
Thanks to Deep Sea, the Pick 5 came back a relatively light $34,765.70 for a 50-cent ticket.
Click here for the Equibase charts from Jan. 7 at Gulfstream Park
January 9 witnessed some huge bi-coastal payoffs at Aqueduct and Santa Anita Park.
At Aqueduct, the Pick 6 returned $47,216 for $2 thanks to a winning sequence that featured three winning favorites. Even with Madame Mabry ($5.60), Be a Hero ($5.70), and Eighty Three ($8.40) in the mix, wins by Mischievous Sophie ($16.20), Bossmon ($13.20) and Best Version ($48.20), a first-time starter from trainer Blaine Servis, pumped plenty of value into the sequence.
Best Version also topped a huge superfecta. With 8-5 favorite Arthur Avenue, a first-time starter from trainer Michelle Nevin, finishing eighth, horses priced at 9-1, 4-1 and 32-1 followed Best Version under the wire and forged a superfecta that returned a glitzy $34,085 for $2.
At Santa Anita, though Trevor was not at the mic, Denman’s Call, a firster trained by Doug O’Neill, registered a 22-1 upset in the fourth race to light the fuse for some fireworks. Second choice Cupid was second at 3-1 but then 22-1 and 38-1 shots followed and the end result was a highly lucrative superfecta payoff of $29,318 for $1.
The “How did you come up with that one?” award was presented at Charles Town on Jan. 8 in the sixth race to some handicappers who decided to shoot for the “Moon.”
Indiana Moon had not been closer to the winner than 10 lengths in his last five starts and had lost by a combined 69 ¾ lengths in his two most recent starts. Yet a turnback from a mile and a sixteenth to six and a half furlongs had the “Moon” shining as brightly as the sun and the 7-year-old gelding notched a victory by a neck at mind-boggling 107-1 odds to return $216.80.
Top Payouts for the Week Ended Jan. 4
Wager
Wager Amount
Payoff
Track
Date
Race#
Win
$ 2.00
$ 216.80
CT
1/8/2016
6
Place
$ 2.00
$ 68.60
CT
1/8/2016
6
Show
$ 2.00
$ 33.00
DED
1/9/2016
4
Exacta
$ 1.00
$ 434.20
DED
1/6/2016
10
Exacta
$ 2.00
$ 1,480.60
CT
1/8/2016
6
Quinella
$ 1.00
$ 60.00
TUP
1/10/2016
6
Quinella
$ 2.00
$ 100.50
AQU
1/8/2016
4
Trifecta
$ 0.50
$ 4,613.60
DED
1/6/2016
10
Trifecta
$ 1.00
$ 14,431.40
CT
1/8/2016
6
Trifecta
$ 2.00
$ 7,539.60
TP
1/9/2016
8
Superfecta
$ 0.10
$ 9,386.20
MVR
1/5/2016
7
Superfecta
$ 1.00
$ 29,318.50
SA
1/9/2016
4
Superfecta
$ 2.00
$ 34,085.00
AQU
1/9/2016
6
Daily Double
$ 1.00
$ 315.00
LA
1/8/2016
5
Daily Double
$ 2.00
$ 4,850.80
GP
1/9/2016
3
Pick 3
$ 0.50
$ 2,564.25
PEN
1/8/2016
5
Pick 3
$ 1.00
$ 24,350.00
GP
1/10/2016
9
Pick 3
$ 2.00
$ 2,073.40
LRL
1/10/2016
7
Pick 4
$ 0.50
$ 104,376.15
GP
1/7/2016
10
Pick 4
$ 1.00
$ 33,327.40
TAM
1/6/2016
9
Pick 4
$ 2.00
$ 5,066.00
AQU
1/9/2016
9
Pick 5
$ 0.50
$ 36,245.30
TAM
1/6/2016
9
Pick 5
$ 2.00
$ 6,898.00
AQU
1/8/2016
5
Pick 6
$ 1.00
$ 3,640.70
TUP
1/4/2016
8
Pick 6
$ 2.00
$ 47,216.00
AQU
1/9/2016
9
Pick 6 Jackpot
$ 0.20
$ 262,634.84
GP
1/7/2016
10
Super High Five
$ 0.50
$ 2,152.00
DED
1/6/2016
10
Super High Five
$ 1.00
$ 12,644.00
GP
1/9/2016
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.