Breaking the Bank: Quarter-Million Jackpot

Breaking the Bank - featuring data courtesy of Equibase - highlights the biggest scores of the past week in racing. (Gulfstream Park photo by Eclipse Sportswire) 
Whether you love or hate a jackpot bet like Gulfstream Park’s Rainbow 6, there is no denying a healthy pot of cash available for the taking adds some sizzle to the card.
A $159,686 carryover that had built from the start of the championship meet on Dec. 8 attracted the attention of horseplayers and a New York-based bettor took down the $242,469.46 pot on Dec. 19 on a Pick 6 ticket that cost just $12.80.
The Rainbow 6 is a multi-race bet with a 20-cent minimum that requires gamblers to select the winners of six consecutive races. The Rainbow 6 is a jackpot Pick 6 wager that pays out only when there is one winning ticket. If nobody has all six winners in the sequence or if more than one person correctly selects all six winners, a portion of the money bet into the day’s Rainbow 6 pool, plus the money already carried over, rolls into the jackpot for next card.
Entering the final leg of a Rainbow 6 sequence that stretched from Races 5-10 on the Friday card at Gulfstream, there were only two horses that would have triggered a jackpot payout: Scorpion Aly (10.40-to-1) and Sawyer (4.90-to-1). The latter was singled on the winning ticket.
The sequence kicked off with 3-to-2 favorite R Limo Joe winning Race 5 and 9-to-5 second betting choice Sweet Miri taking the next race. The winning Rainbow 6 ticket had the top two betting choices in both races.
Maid in Heaven set the pace at 4.30-to-1 odds and won by 1 ¼ lengths over favorite Kizuna in Race 7, a race in which the winner spread out with four horses on his ticket at odds ranging from the 1.30-to-1 favorite to 20.90-to-1 fourth-place finisher Oxidienne.
With three logical horses winning the first three legs, it sure looked like the Pick 6 had the potential to see multiple winners and thus another carryover. But Charge eliminated quite a few live tickets when he rallied from seventh to win the eighth race at 10.40-to-1 odds with even-money favorite Rush Now fourth. The jackpot winner had both Charge and Rush Now on his ticket and used only two horses in the second-to-last race as well: last-place finisher Diva Meg and the winner Street Sailing.
Street Sailing scored at 7.20-to-1 in Race 9 with 3-to-2 favorite Hillhouse High fourth, setting the table for a pair of live tickets to a jackpot payout in the nightcap.
Sawyer closed from sixth and held off 19-to-1 Jester and Me by a head for the win and a massive score for one in-the-zone bettor whose holiday season got an infusion of green. I want to be at that horseplayer’s New Year’s Eve party!
Click here for Equibase charts from Dec. 19 at Gulfstream Park
(Blog continued below table)
Top Payouts for the Week Ended Dec. 21

Wager
 Wager Amount 
 Payoff 
Track
Date
Race#

Win
 $2.00
 $224.80
FG
12/18/14
9

Place
 $2.00
 $100.40
FG
12/18/14
9

Show
 $2.00
 $34.40
FG
12/18/14
9

Exacta
 $1.00
 $419.10
TUP
12/21/14
7

Exacta
 $2.00
 $1,882.80
FG
12/18/14
9

Quinella
 $1.00
 $273.50
TUP
12/21/14
7

Quinella
 $2.00
 $22.20
AQU
12/15/14
4

Trifecta
 $0.50
 $947.50
MVR
12/15/14
7

Trifecta
 $1.00
 $4,286.70
TUP
12/21/14
7

Trifecta
 $2.00
 $13,164.00
TAM
12/20/14
1

Superfecta
 $0.10
 $12,328.88
FG
12/18/14
9

Superfecta
 $1.00
 $40,184.50
TAM
12/20/14
6

Superfecta
 $2.00
 $29,957.00
AQU
12/15/14
5

Daily Double
 $1.00
 $260.70
DED
12/18/14
8

Daily Double
 $2.00
 $965.20
TAM
12/21/14
6

Pick 3
 $0.50
 $1,006.75
FG
12/21/14
5

Pick 3
 $1.00
 $5,611.80
PRX
12/21/14
9

Pick 3
 $2.00
 $11,335.80
LRL
12/20/14
9

Pick 4
 $0.50
 $12,824.95
PRX
12/21/14
8

Pick 4
 $1.00
 $10,322.40
GP
12/19/14
10

Pick 4
 $2.00
 $43,545.00
TAM
12/21/14
6

Pick 5
 $0.20
 $71.70
PM
12/16/14
10

Pick 5
 $0.50
 $11,158.10
DED
12/20/14
10

Pick 5
 $2.00
 $25,576.40
HAW
12/18/14
5

Pick 5 Jackpot
 $0.20
 $75,273.94
LRL
12/18/14
9

Pick 5 Jackpot
 $0.50
 $3,820.15
FG
12/21/14
9

Pick 6
 $0.20
 $917.06
HAW
12/19/14
9

Pick 6
 $1.00
 $1,099.00
TUP
12/21/14
8

Pick 6
 $2.00
 $35,129.20
LRC
12/21/14
9

Pick 6 Jackpot
 $0.20
 $242,469.46
GP
12/19/14
10

Super High Five
 $0.50
 $23,673.65
FG
12/20/14
12

Super High Five
 $1.00
 $78,142.90
GP
12/19/14
10

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.  

Fair Grounds on Dec. 18 saved the fireworks for the finale on a nine-race card as a triple-digit odds victor was responsible for five of the top payouts for the week. Folsom’s Jas closed powerfully from seventh to reel in 3.10-to-1 favorite Betty Mc and prevail by a neck at 111.40-to-1. Folsom’s Jas returned $224.80 for a $2 win bet, $100.40 for a $2 place bet and $34.40 to show. The Folsom’s Jas-Betty Mc exacta cashed for $1,882.80.
With a bomb like that on top you would expect the superfecta to pay well, even with the favorite running second and 3.70-to-1 Rozanarozanadanna taking third. Festy’s Forty Won rallied from eighth to finish fourth at 13.80-to-1 and fill in the final slot on a 10-cent superfecta that paid $12,328.88.

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.