Mike Smith rides Justify to victory during the 144th running of the Kentucky Derby. Photo / AP
Justify's ownership team took home US$1.24 million (NZ$1.77m) after the favourite won Sunday's Kentucky Derby, the NZ$500,000 they shelled out for the colt in 2016 looking like money well spent.
A woman from Austin, Texas, scored nearly the same payday after Justify's victory on Saturday. She only had to put
down US$18 ($NZ25).
Placing a Pick 5 bet at Retama Park in Selma, Texas, the woman correctly predicted the winners of Races 8-12 at Churchill Downs: Limousine Liberal, 4-1 in the eighth; Maraud, 8-1 in the ninth; Funny Duck, a 40-1 long shot in the 10th; and Yoshida, 10-1 in the 11th. And when Justify crossed the finish line first in the Kentucky Derby, the 12th race on the card, the woman was US$1.2 million richer. She asked not to be identified.
"It's extremely rare," Retama Park spokeswoman Rachel Bagnetto told ABC News. "To bet that little amount of money and win $1.2 million is unheard of. In fact, it's the first time it's happened at Retama."
Pick 5 or Pick 6 winners can take home large jackpots considering how difficult it is to select that many first-place finishers over a string of races. In 2014, a thoroughbred owner named Daniel Borislow took home $6,678,939.12 in Gulfstream Park's Rainbow 6 promotion, though he had wagered $7,603.20 on multiple tickets to win it.
