You may think you had a good day of betting for Saturday's Kentucky Derby, but you probably didn't do as well as one woman from Austin, Texas. That woman managed to turn an $18 bet into a $1.2 million payday with a series of bets that came through in the clutch.
The woman, who has chosen not to be identified (probably a smart move), made a Pick 5 wager from a racetrack in Selma, TX. If you're unfamiliar with the definition of a Pick 5, you clearly didn't brush up on our explainer of Derby terminology. It means she submitted a bet attempting to pick the winner of five consecutive races.
She ended up correctly predicting the final five winners at Churchhill Downs on Saturday, including the winner of the main event, Justify. While Justify entered the finale with pretty good odds, at 3-1, some of the woman's previous picks were significant long shots, including Funny Duck (39-1) and Yoshida (9-1).
After hitting on those first four bets, I can only imagine the level of nervousness and anxiety running through a bettor's body watching the main event unfold. Knowing you've got a shot to become a millionaire off an $18 bet has to be an excruciatingly high-stress situation to find yourself in, but hitting that final bet also has to be one of the greatest rushes you'll ever feel in your life.
In the end, she did hit on each one of her selections, and considering her payday nearly matched Justify's ($1.24 million), I'd say that's a pretty good day at the racetrack.
