Breaking the Bank: A Pick 5 Haul at Aqueduct

Breaking the Bank - featuring data courtesy of Equibase - highlights the biggest scores of the past week in racing. (Aqueduct photo by Eclipse Sportswire) 
With the Breeders’ Cup in the rearview mirror, handicappers return to the challenge of finding value of everyday cards across the U.S.
On Nov. 9, there was money to be made early and often at Aqueduct, where the favorites failed in the first five races. The result was a Pick 5 (Races 1-5) that returned a reported $342,912 for $2, but with less than that total in the pool we can do some simple math and determine that there were two winning tickets that paid $85,728 for 50 cents.
Let’s dive in a little deeper and try to figure out what made this Pick 5 such a difficult sequence.
Click here for Equibase charts from Aqueduct on Nov. 9
Opener was favored at 2.20-to-1 odds in the opener in what was her second career start. She finished a well-beaten sixth in her career debut on Oct. 2 in a $50,000 maiden-claiming race at 1 1/16 miles on the turf at Belmont Park. Opener returned in a one-mile race on the main track for a $20,000 claiming price and ran about the same type of race, finishing third behind 14.40-to-1 winner Bay Dawn, who had finished third and second, respectively, in her two previous races. The fact that those two top-three finishes came at Finger Lakes and the Meadowlands probably had plenty to do with Bay Dawn’s appealing odds
Race 2 went to 4-to-1 second choice Lismore, a well-bred Tiznow filly making her second start after a promising debut in which she closed from seventh to finish second. She looked like an obvious candidate to win and outperformed 2.35-to-1 favorite Seeking, who entered off a third-place finish in her debut.
Wraith took a ton of money in Race 3 following four-straight second-place finishes, but second-betting choice Ridingwiththedevil pressed the pace and inched away late to win at 1.90-to-1 odds. The winning-Candy Ride filly took nine races to earn her first win in her previous race, but she had consistently run well, with five seconds and a third-place finish to her credit. Plus, she had competed in the Grade 1 Las Virgenes Stakes in her second career start. Even though she finished sixth in that race, it showed that her connections at the time thought very highly of her.
The fourth of five races went to 9.30-to-1 Campion Lane, who charged from sixth to win by three-quarters of a length in the one-mile, maiden-claiming race on the main track. Campion Lane finished third in his previous start in a $25,000 claiming race and was making the step up to a $40,000 claiming price despite failing to win in 16 previous starts. Campion Lane had finished in the top three in five of his most recent eight starts before the breakthrough win, in which 11-to-10 favorite Blue Collar Cat faded to fifth after setting an uncontested pace.
Blue Collar Cat had followed the same script in each of his two previous starts at the same level, leading early and then fading.
Scat Away closed out the sequence with a win at 9.90-to-1 in a race that was taken off the turf. The Scat Daddy filly rallied from fourth to edge 3.05-to-1 second choice Bella Kateri by a neck in the one-mile allowance race. With only two races under her belt, Scat Away was the most lightly raced of the eight fillies and mares entered. The other seven starters ranged from three to 25 career starts and averaged 13.3 races.
Trained by elite New York trainer Linda Rice and ridden by the red-hot Cornelio Velasquez, who won 10 of 31 races last week, Scat Away offered plenty of upside. Nonnie Connie, the 6-to-5 favorite, had won only two of 22 previous starts and once in her last 20 races. Because of multiple scratches, Nonnie Connie drew into the off-the-turf race at 2-to-1 on the morning line for respected trainer Gary Contessa, and she certainly fit the profile a vulnerable favorite.
Top Payouts for the Week Ended Nov. 9

Wager
 Wager Amount 
 Payoff 
Track
Date
Race#

Win
 $2.00
 $158.80
HAW
11/7/14
5

Place
 $2.00
 $63.40
RP
11/7/14
3

Show
 $2.00
 $28.60
MNR
11/9/14
4

Exacta
 $1.00
 $197.50
DMR
11/8/14
4

Exacta
 $2.00
 $997.80
TDN
11/8/14
4

Quinella
 $1.00
 $47.00
TUP
11/4/14
5

Quinella
 $2.00
 $383.00
AQU
11/8/14
2

Trifecta
 $0.50
 $3,143.90
DED
11/8/14
1

Trifecta
 $1.00
 $2,301.20
GPW
11/5/14
6

Trifecta
 $2.00
 $18,237.80
RP
11/5/14
3

Superfecta
 $0.10
 $8,913.30
DED
11/8/14
1

Superfecta
 $0.20
 $24,871.02
HAW
11/5/14
7

Superfecta
 $0.50
 $9,045.40
MNR
11/9/14
4

Superfecta
 $1.00
 $30,215.10
WO
11/5/14
8

Superfecta
 $2.00
 $44,720.00
CD
11/6/14
8

Daily Double
 $1.00
 $418.00
DED
11/5/14
9

Daily Double
 $2.00
 $1,100.00
GPW
11/5/14
7

Pick 3
 $0.50
 $558.65
DED
11/6/14
4

Pick 3
 $1.00
 $6,811.60
GPW
11/5/14
6

Pick 3
 $2.00
 $9,383.60
CD
11/9/14
4

Pick 4
 $0.50
 $20,359.95
HAW
11/5/14
9

Pick 4
 $1.00
 $14,260.90
MNR
11/3/14
8

Pick 4
 $2.00
 $54,916.60
CD
11/9/14
4

Pick 5
 $0.20
 $5,691.52
HAW
11/7/14
5

Pick 5
 $0.50
 $36,803.85
GG
11/8/14
5

Pick 5
 $2.00
 $342,912.00
AQU
11/9/14
5

Pick 5 Jackpot
 $0.20
 $406.78
LRL
11/6/14
9

Pick 6
 $0.20
 $1,328.24
GG
11/7/14
8

Pick 6
 $1.00
 $920.80
TUP
11/5/14
8

Pick 6
 $2.00
 $56,855.60
DMR
11/9/14
9

Pick 6 Jackpot
 $0.20
 $7,174.14
CD
11/8/14
10

Super High Five
 $0.50
 $3,632.15
MNR
11/4/14
8

Super High Five
 $1.00
 $25,399.60
CD
11/9/14
10

Super High Five
 $2.00
 $250.00
MNR
11/8/14
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.