Breaking the Bank: Golden Gate Windfall
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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)
Sometimes it only takes one.
Having the lone winning ticket was the recipe for success for one crafty handicapper who connected on the final six winners at Golden Gate Fields on Jan. 30 and raked in $39,946.60 from a 20-cent wager.
The bank-busting windfall featured no victorious favorites among the six winners yet none of them was completely unfathomable, with $19.60 serving as the highest win payoff.
The Pick 6 Jackpot sequence kicked off on a high note with Charming Starlet taking the fourth race and paying $18.60 and then shifted into a lower gear with wins by third-choice Unbridled Fire ($9.80) and the four-legged typo Nthpreznzofgraynes ($8.20), the 3-1 second choice in the sixth race.
The final three races featured wins by China Prince ($19.60), second-choice Zarqa Star ($7.60) and Red Globe ($13.20) to make one handicapper deliriously happy.
Click here for the Equibase charts from Jan. 30 at Golden Gate Fields
Meanwhile, picking five proved to be quite lucrative for handicappers at Aqueduct and Santa Anita Park last week.
The Pick 5 at the Big A on Jan. 31 turned out to be a humongous $46,462 pay day for handicappers wise enough to connect on a sequence that was helped along by one odds-on winner, Vincento ($3.40), and a 5-2 second choice in Bileaps and Bounds ($7.80).
The rest of the wager was completed through wins by Rock Show ($45), Gambler’s Ghost ($10.60) and finally My Man Sam ($13.20).
Picking five in a different manner was the key to riches at Santa Anita on Jan. 30 when a maiden race, complicated by the presence of some overlooked first-time starters, was the setting for a $40,972.80 Super High Five payoff for a $1 ticket.
First-time starter Shy Carmelita ($26.20) started the sequence with a victory at 12-1 odds and was followed under the wire by 2-1 second-choice Desperate Chick. A pair of runners making their racing debut, Coalinga Hills at 43-1 and favored Ready to Hula Lula, were next and then 7-1 shot Who Said Lucky brought down the curtain on a ritzy payoff for highly fortunate handicappers.
Aqueduct players also had a golden opportunity to strike it rich on Jan. 28 in the ninth race superfecta through the help of a disqualification. Hangry, at 4-1, crossed the finish line first, but was disqualified, allowing 41-1 shot Thunderbumms to move into the win spot. Horses priced at 49-1 and 6-1 finished third and fourth, respectively, rewarding anyone who connected on that combination with a cool $9,693 for a 10-cent wager.
The week’s “How did you come up with that one?” award was presented at Tampa Bay Downs in the fifth race on Jan. 29.
Mybrotherjohnnya had finished no better than fourth in his last 12 races and was sent off at 58-1 odds, but on this day the gelding came to life, pressing the pace and then edging clear in the stretch to prevail by a half-length.
The end result was a $118.80 payoff for a $2 win ticket - and plenty of people at Tampa Bay Downs wishing their parents had named their brother Johnny.
Top Payouts for the Week Ended Jan. 31
Wager
Wager Amount
Payoff
Track
Date
Race#
Win
$ 2.00
$ 118.80
TAM
1/29/2016
5
Place
$ 2.00
$ 76.50
AQU
1/30/2016
5
Show
$ 2.00
$ 29.20
AQU
1/30/2016
5
Exacta
$ 1.00
$ 294.50
LA
1/30/2016
1
Exacta
$ 2.00
$ 1,245.20
OP
1/29/2016
1
Quinella
$ 1.00
$ 57.20
TUP
1/27/2016
5
Quinella
$ 2.00
$ 82.50
AQU
1/29/2016
2
Trifecta
$ 0.50
$ 10,070.00
HOU
1/29/2016
4
Trifecta
$ 1.00
$ 6,937.30
OP
1/29/2016
1
Trifecta
$ 2.00
$ 13,698.00
HOU
1/30/2016
4
Superfecta
$ 0.10
$ 6,859.62
OP
1/29/2016
1
Superfecta
$ 1.00
$ 25,469.10
LA
1/30/2016
1
Superfecta
$ 2.00
$ 193,878.00
AQU
1/28/2016
9
Daily Double
$ 1.00
$ 450.80
DED
1/29/2016
4
Daily Double
$ 2.00
$ 984.40
TAM
1/29/2016
6
Pick 3
$ 0.50
$ 1,066.90
HOU
1/30/2016
6
Pick 3
$ 1.00
$ 3,480.70
TAM
1/30/2016
8
Pick 3
$ 2.00
$ 36,600.00
TP
1/29/2016
8
Pick 4
$ 0.50
$ 19,294.35
FG
1/29/2016
9
Pick 4
$ 1.00
$ 10,740.50
TAM
1/27/2016
6
Pick 4
$ 2.00
$ 10,488.00
AQU
1/28/2016
9
Pick 5
$ 0.20
$ 3,890.00
PM
1/25/2016
9
Pick 5
$ 0.50
$ 10,353.40
SA
1/28/2016
5
Pick 5
$ 1.00
$ 1,416.30
TAM
1/29/2016
10
Pick 5
$ 2.00
$ 46,462.00
AQU
1/31/2016
5
Pick 6
$ 1.00
$ 635.30
TUP
1/25/2016
8
Pick 6
$ 2.00
$ 20,874.00
AQU
1/29/2016
9
Pick 6 Jackpot
$ 0.20
$ 39,946.60
GG
1/30/2016
9
Super High Five
$ 0.20
$ 3,548.68
HOU
1/30/2016
10
Super High Five
$ 0.50
$ 10,377.40
FG
1/30/2016
10
Super High Five
$ 1.00
$ 40,972.80
SA
1/30/2016
10
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.