Breaking the Bank: Plenty of Options in Search for Big Score

Breaking the Bank - featuring data courtesy of Equibase - highlights the biggest scores of the past week in racing. (Belmont Park photo by Eclipse Sportswire)
Breaking the Bank often serves as a reminder that a big score can come from just about any racetrack on any surface and any day of the week.
You don’t have to bet the Pick 6 on a Super Saturday card to make a bundle of cash, although usually there is a ton of cash to be made on those big cards.
Last week served as a perfect example that a huge payday can just as easily come from a dime superfecta on a Monday at Presque Isle Downs as it can from a late week/weekend multi-race wager at a NYRA track.
Let’s get this post rolling at Presque Isle with a scenario in which a smart (and probably a little lucky) bettor turned a dime into $11,932.02 on a superfecta in which none of the top four finishers was sent off at odds of greater than 13.80-to-1.
The reported superfecta payout for Race 2 on Sept. 15 at Presque Isle was $238,640.40 for a $2 bet, but with less than $16,000 in the pool we can easily reason that the winning ticket was for the 10-cent minimum.
Hudatbe closed from seventh to win the 5 ½-furlong sprint on the synthetic Tapeta Footings surface at 12-to-1 odds. Greely Station followed Hudatbe home at 4-to-1.
Things got interesting when The Atlantic Storm closed for third at 11.40-to-1 and Talented Cat rallied from ninth to finish fourth at 13.80-to-1.
Sure, there were three horses at double-digit odds in the top four, but neither of the two biggest longshots — Too Fast (35.80-to-1) and Walk a Mile (50.80-to-1) — factored in this race.
Click here for the Equibase chart for Race 2 on Sept. 15 at Presque Isle Downs
Part of the reason for the big score was a deep, evenly matched 11-horse field in which the top three betting choices were 3-to-1, 3.80-to-1 and 4-to-1. The trio of double-digit horses that finished in the top four certainly helped, too, as did the 12-to-1 victor. But when you are playing dime bets, you have some flexibility to use multiple combinations, which is something to which anyone who has ever stood behind a dime super player with 2 minutes to post can attest.
There probably is no bigger contrast among horseplayers than the gap between the dime superfecta player and the avid multi-race wager bettor. The former might make several hundred bets in an afternoon, while the latter might focus on a single sequence of races with only one or just a handful of tickets.
Let’s jump from dime bets at Presque Isle to Belmont Park on Sept. 19, where the $2 return for the early Pick 5 (Races 1-5) was a whopping $117,524.
The sequence featured only one winner at double-digit odds — Which Market at 13.40-to-1 in the fifth and final race — but the degree of difficulty was boosted by the fact that the favorite lost in each of the races.
Indy Tune won the opener at 4-to-1 with 0.85-to-1 favorite Dr Disco third. Race 2 went to Royal Posse at 8.40-to-1 and things really got interesting in the third race when Carameaway prevailed at 6.50-to-1 with 1.15-to-1 favorite Sunny Desert fifth and a heavily backed entry finishing fourth and sixth at 1.30-to-1.
Third choice King Gettigan won Race 4 at 2.75-to-1 odds with 5-to-2 favorite No Nukes coming home fifth before Which Market posted an upset in the anchor leg with 2.10-to-1 favorite Helm fourth.
Click here for the Equibase charts from Sept. 19 at Belmont
The two aforementioned big scores in this blog prove that you don’t need to find a massive longshot for a huge score. Beaten favorites work just as well regardless of the bet and at any racetrack.
Top Payouts for the Week Ended Sept. 21

Wager
 Wager Amount 
 Payoff 
Track
Date
Race#

Win
 $2.00
 $126.20
LRL
9/17/14
2

Place
 $2.00
 $76.80
DEL
9/17/14
2

Show
 $2.00
 $67.10
ASD
9/21/14
1

Exacta
 $1.00
 $288.50
DEL
9/17/14
2

Exacta
 $2.00
 $2,282.20
ALB
9/21/14
8

Quinella
 $2.00
 $127.00
BEL
9/18/14
5

Trifecta
 $0.50
 $253.90
AP
9/20/14
6

Trifecta
 $1.00
 $2,072.70
LRC
9/20/14
5

Trifecta
 $2.00
 $15,582.40
BTP
9/21/14
2

Superfecta
 $0.10
 $2,154.30
PRX
9/20/14
3

Superfecta
 $0.50
 $1,241.45
EMD
9/19/14
5

Superfecta
 $1.00
 $55,067.50
LRL
9/17/14
5

Superfecta
 $2.00
 $238,640.40
PID
9/15/14
2

Daily Double
 $1.00
 $187.40
DEL
9/20/14
3

Daily Double
 $2.00
 $831.20
RET
9/20/14
7

Pick 3
 $0.50
 $2,845.75
LRL
9/20/14
6

Pick 3
 $1.00
 $6,643.90
PRX
9/16/14
7

Pick 3
 $2.00
 $8,412.20
CT
9/18/14
8

Pick 4
 $0.50
 $5,424.20
STK
9/19/14
4

Pick 4
 $1.00
 $8,543.40
WO
9/20/14
10

Pick 4
 $2.00
 $22,424.00
BEL
9/19/14
9

Pick 5
 $0.50
 $17,687.65
MED
9/19/14
6

Pick 5
 $1.00
 $17,109.80
STK
9/19/14
9

Pick 5
 $2.00
 $117,524.00
BEL
9/19/14
5

Pick 5 Jackpot
 $0.20
 $1,621.96
LRL
9/18/14
9

Pick 5 Jackpot
 $0.50
 $29,685.65
LAD
9/20/14
9

Pick 6
 $0.20
 $4,629.68
STK
9/20/14
9

Pick 6
 $1.00
 $4,672.40
PID
9/16/14
7

Pick 6
 $2.00
 $55,975.20
LRC
9/21/14
9

Pick 6 Jackpot
 $0.10
 $25,684.42
MTH
9/20/14
10

Pick 6 Jackpot
 $0.20
 $3,072.86
GP
9/18/14
10

Super High Five
 $0.20
 $558.22
STK
9/21/14
9

Super High Five
 $0.50
 $4,303.35
MNR
9/21/14
8

Super High Five
 $1.00
 $2,363.20
GP
9/18/14
10

Super High Five
 $2.00
 $2,127.20
MNR
9/15/14
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.  

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.