Breaking the Bank: This Week's Top Payouts

Breaking the Bank - featuring data courtesy of Equibase - highlights the biggest scores of the past week in racing. (Photo by Eclipse Sportswire)
When I open up the table from Equibase each week that provides the foundation of this weekly feature, the first thing I do is scan through for 6- and 7-figure payouts.
This week provided a number of eye-catching scores, and the first two that jumped off the page came at the Oak Tree at Pleasanton meeting. Turns out that both of them did, indeed, produce big returns on investment, but both were misleading in that the payout was reported for a $2 wager rather than the minimum bet of 20 cents.
The Super High 5 - a jackpot bet that produces a carryover if nobody correctly selects the top 5 finishers in order – for Race 8 on June 27 at Pleasanton produced a reported payout of $1,186,327. But with much less than that combined in the betting pool and carryover, it’s clear that the winning ticket paid $118,632.76 for the 20-cent minimum - still a robust score.
The winner of the Super High 5, Warren’s Tyler S., prevailed at 9-to-5 odds but after that things got really difficult. Soul Saver finished second at 29.70-to-1 odds and was followed by Little Prince (11.60-to-1), Willow Creek Willy (22.50-to-1) and Gambling Streak (16.20-to-1).
Another huge reported payout at Oak Tree at Pleasanton came on June 28. The Gold Rush Pick 6, another jackpot wager that follows the model of Gulfstream Park’s Rainbow 6, returned a reported $589,989.20, but with a little more than 10-percent of that combined in the wagering pool and from the carryover we can deduce that the winning ticket was a 20-cent minimum bet that paid $58,989.92.
A couple of keys to the Gold Rush Pick 6 were 13-to-1 Tribal Gal winning Race 8 and even-money favorite An App for Abbie finishing third in Race 9 in a 7-horse field.
Race 10 at Lone Star Park on June 27 produced incredible bang for a bettor’s buck. The $1 trifecta returned $14,118.30 and the 10-cent superfecta paid a whopping $14,614.53 with both bets keyed by 24.90-to-1 victor Fly by Traffic. The longshot winner overhauled 4.20-to-1 Black Locust late to prevail by a neck.
The trifecta payout was spiced up by Offers Are Cheap finishing third at 21.80-to-1 odds. Mertzies Pride, fourth at 48.80-to-1, gave the superfecta a healthy boost.
(continued below the table)
Top Payouts for the Week Ended June 29

Wager
 Wager Amount 
 Payoff 
Track
Date
Race#

Win
 $2.00
 $187.60
GP
6/29/14
2

Place
 $2.00
 $83.40
BOI
6/25/14
11

Show
 $2.00
 $42.60
BTP
6/29/14
6

Exacta
 $1.00
 $345.00
FMT
6/27/14
5

Exacta
 $2.00
 $2,560.00
PRX
6/28/14
1

Quinella
 $2.00
 $982.00
PRM
6/28/14
3

Trifecta
 $0.50
 $561.75
AP
6/27/14
6

Trifecta
 $1.00
 $14,118.30
LS
6/27/14
10

Trifecta
 $2.00
 $13,726.80
IND
6/24/14
7

Superfecta
 $0.10
 $14,614.53
LS
6/27/14
10

Superfecta
 $0.50
 $1,383.15
EMD
6/29/14
4

Superfecta
 $1.00
 $32,298.50
CBY
6/26/14
5

Superfecta
 $2.00
 $104,154.20
LAD
6/27/14
9

Daily Double
 $1.00
 $120.70
CBY
6/29/14
5

Daily Double
 $2.00
 $2,350.20
LAD
6/27/14
9

Pick 3
 $0.50
 $1,373.10
EVD
6/28/14
7

Pick 3
 $1.00
 $5,482.20
PID
6/24/14
7

Pick 3
 $2.00
 $7,622.00
LAD
6/27/14
3

Pick 4
 $0.50
 $18,283.45
AP
6/27/14
9

Pick 4
 $1.00
 $62,539.80
WO
6/29/14
7

Pick 4
 $2.00
 $31,411.20
CD
6/29/14
10

Pick 5
 $0.50
 $21,294.95
CD
6/26/14
9

Pick 5
 $1.00
 $43,854.10
OTP
6/28/14
10

Pick 5
 $2.00
 $31,914.00
BEL
6/26/14
5

Pick 5 Jackpot
 $0.50
 $1,325.10
LAD
6/26/14
8

Pick 6
 $0.50
 $172,347.40
CD
6/29/14
10

Pick 6
 $1.00
 $5,797.90
AP
6/26/14
9

Pick 6
 $2.00
 $589,989.20
OTP
6/28/14
10

Pick 6 Jackpot
 $0.10
 $33,682.10
MTH
6/29/14
12

Pick 6 Jackpot
 $0.20
 $40,000.00
GP
6/27/14
8

Super High Five
 $0.10
 $62.63
LS
6/28/14
9

Super High Five
 $1.00
 $9,560.70
CD
6/29/14
10

Super High Five
 $2.00
 $1,186,327.60
OTP
6/27/14
8

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.  

Closing day, and mandatory payouts, for the Churchill Downs spring/summer meeting on June 29 combined to produce a reported 50-cent Pick 6 payday of $172,347.40. There was, in fact, one winning ticket for the sequence at the 20-cent minimum that returned $68,938.
The sequence featured Races 5-10 and, while it started with a 7-to-10 winner, it closed with an extremely difficult pair of races. Hunting Hill rallied from fourth to win Race 9 at 19.40-to-1 odds and More Than Less closed out the Pick 6 in Race 10 with a win at 19.70-to-1 odds. 

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.