Payout for Pick 5

by Mary Anne
(Las Vegas)

Beholder ridden by Gary Stevens wins the Breeders' Cup Distaff at Santa Anita

Hello,

I am trying to understand how my pick 5 payout is calculated and I do not understand.

Below is my wager and payout information from Gulfstream's website. When I calculate my payout manually I do not come to the same number.

Price per bet $0.50 total ticket cost $144.00
12/20/18 Gulfstream Park Race 6 pick 5
3,6,8,10/3,5,7/1-3,8/8-10/6,12

Race 10
$1 Pick 5 3/3,13/1/9/6 4,654.70

I would assume that the winning is half of $4,654.70 which is $2,327.35 but my ticket says $2,599.05.

I'm not complaining but I want to be able to better estimate what my winnings will be next time.

Answer: Pick 6 ONLY paid all 6 of 6. The Pick 5 pool paid consolation 4 of 5 tickets as well.
11x 4 out of 5 @24.70 added to the pick 5 win.

Exact calculation after the take-out is unclear, based upon the track’s formula. They get their cut off the top & the remainder is pool payout money.

Courtesy of Laurie Ross: lross@ironmaidensthoroughbreds.com

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Mar 16, 2024
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by: Chris

Answer: You are absolutely right! There is a formula to calculate the number of winning tickets for hitting 4 out of 5 in a pick 5 wager, and it depends on the number of horses running in each race.

Here's how it works:

Imagine you need to choose 4 horses out of a total of `num_horses` for one race in the Pick 5. The number of ways to do this can be calculated using the combinations formula. This formula gives you the number of possible arrangements of `k` items chosen from a set of `n` items, regardless of order.

In this case, you're choosing 4 horses (k) out of `num_horses` (n) possible horses. So, the number of winning tickets for hitting 4 out of 5 in a single race with `num_horses` horses would be:

```
num_tickets_per_race = num_horses * (num_horses - 1) * (num_horses - 2) * (num_horses - 3) / (4 * 3 * 2)
```

For the Pick 5, you need to consider this calculation for all five races. Since the races are independent (picking the winner in one race doesn't affect your choices in others), you simply multiply the number of winning tickets per race to get the total number of tickets that hit 4 out of 5.

Here's an example:

Suppose there are 8 horses in each race.

The number of winning tickets for hitting 4 out of 5 in a single race would be:

```
num_tickets_per_race = 8 * (8 - 1) * (8 - 2) * (8 - 3) / (4 * 3 * 2) = 70
```

For the entire Pick 5 with 8 horses in each race, the total number of winning tickets that hit 4 out of 5 would be:

```
total_tickets = num_tickets_per_race ^ 5 = 70 ^ 5 = 1680700
```

**Important to Note:**

* This formula only calculates the number of possible winning tickets, not the actual number of winning bets placed.
* Some tracks may offer consolation payouts for tickets that hit 4 out of 5, but this depends on the specific track rules and wagering pool.

It's important to consult the official rules and regulations of Gulfstream Park for details on consolation payouts and any other specificities related to Pick 5 wagers.

Mar 16, 2024
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Consolation 4 of 5 in Pick 5 formula?
by: Anonymous

does anyone know how to calculate the # of winning tickets for hitting 4 of 5 in a pick 5 at Gulfstream? There must be a formula based on the # of horses used in each race.

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