Did you rub your eyes when the results were posted for the mandatory payoff Jackpot Hi-5 last Saturday at Woodbine? More than five million 20-cent combinations were sold on the last-race wager and there wasn’t a single winning ticket. The payoff was $130,653 for a 20-cent ticket that just needed the top four finishers to be correct. That’s what happens when horses with odds of 79-1 and 20-1 finish first and second. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason for what happened in the 11-horse field and the race will likely be remembered as the wackiest of the year. I wonder whether a “quick pick” ticket took down one of the $130K payoffs.

The early pick-5 at Woodbine tomorrow should unfold more logically. In fact, it has the feel of the winning pick-5 from two weeks ago when I suggested taking “all” in the last leg. But the ticket is cheaper at only $9.60. Note the two superfecta plays, too, in races 4 and 5 that won’t cost much, but could pay handsomely.

  • RACE 2, starter optional claiming: With the biggest pace numbers in the field — and dropping in class from a tougher race last time – #5 Silent Miracle emerges as a key in a likely gate-to-wire effort.
  • RACE 3, maiden optional claimer: Lowest added-up number of 3 makes #7 Saucy Name the horse to beat, but #3 Pretty Good Joke could be the one with the class drop.
  • RACE 4, maiden optional claiming: These are two-year-olds, but three of them should dominate: #6 Baytown Bump is making the big drop from maiden special weight company, #3 Double Ride has lowest added-up number of 3 and first-time starter #9 Little Red Domi has the powerful 30 per cent duo of leading rider Sahin Civaci and trainer Kevin Attard. SUPERFECTA: 3,6,9/3,6,9/7/ALL and 3,6,9/3,6,9/ALL/7. The reason for #7 (10-1): Has big pace numbers over 100 in route races, suggesting he could be closing late. It’s the “route speed cutting back to a sprint” rule.
  • RACE 5, maiden optional claiming: This baby race appears to have a big standout – #10 Golden Sunset — who is dropping in class from two maiden special weight races in which she was second. SUPERFECTA: Take #10 on top of #6 in the three underneath positions with 1,2,3,4,7 in the other two positions. Why #6 (15-1)? Has big pace number of 113 WITH BLINKERS and, with blinkers off, she should be showing that early speed late. Good recent workout, too, where she was fifth quickest of 29 at 5 furlongs.
  • RACE 6, $25K claimer for two-year-olds: This race condition is high on the chaos list. Anything can happen. So I suggest taking all eight horses.

Your 20-cent pick-5 wheel then is 5/3,7/3,6,9/10/ALL8 (1 X 2 X 3 X 1 X 8 = 48 divided by 5 = $9.60).

Looking back at last week’s suggested $4.80 play: That ticket contained two winners, one of them a key but the ticket was meant merely as a “take a shot” bet in a tricky sequence which would have paid big bucks if it had won but only costed pocket change if it didn’t. In fact, the pick-5 paid $1,346 for 20 cents. You could have used the suggested ticket as a starting point.

Just three weeks of Woodbine Thoroughbred racing remains after this weekend! And watch this newsletter at the end of the year for my wrap-up on the hundreds of penalties and rulings handed down this past year at Woodbine and the other four major Canadian Thoroughbred tracks. It will be an eye-opener!

~ by Ivan Bigg