$6k On The 6 Horse Please

by A.J. Coltrane

Emerald Downs was relatively quiet this past Labor Day weekend. Saturday was also a beautiful day, so it made the experience doubly enjoyable.

One side effect of a quiet day at Emerald Downs is that a small amount of money wagered can actually impact the odds on each horse. 10 minutes before post time the amount bet (on horses #5, #6, and #7) might look like this:

Prior to the 4th race the betting was proceeding normally, then somebody did this:

$6,000 on the #6 horse to win(?!?) The #6 horse immediately dropped from about 2/1 down to 1/9. And it sat there. The other horses went up to numbers like 30/1 and 19/1. Even the other “favorites” went up to 5/1 and 6/1.

By post time there was a total of $32,000 wagered, almost 20% of which was the one big bet on #6 to win. The scramble to bet the 30/1’s and 19/1’s brought all the odds closer in-line — the #6 horse ran as a 1/1, while the longshots ran at about 10/1.

The final order?

Win:  #5

Place: #6

Show: #1

Ouch for him! On the bright side, I hit the 6-5 Exacta, which paid 18.50/1.

It should have paid better though.