A Texas woman won big during the Kentucky Derby, when her $18 bet won her $1.2 million. Margaret Reid from Austin, Texas placed her lucky bet at the Retama Park racetrack in Selma, Texas during the prestigious horse race. She bet on five different races, including Justify to win the Kentucky Derby. Every one of her picks won their races. Kerry Andersen, Director of Public Relations for Pinnacle Entertainment, told Bestie: “This was the largest payout in the history of Retama Park so an exciting day for our team!”
Reid expressed her surprise and happiness at winning the huge prize on her Kentucky Derby bet to KENS5, saying: “It was an amazing feeling yes, that you won a really big, like a really big ticket. A mini-lotto if you will.” Reid’s win is actually only slightly less than the amount awarded to Justify for winning the Kentucky Derby ($1.24 million).
This sort of win was extremely rare. A spokesperson for Retama Park, 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.” Reid however, is no stranger to betting on the horses. She knew exactly what she was doing when she made her bets.
“I understand the program and I can break down the races,” Reid told KENS5, “It doesn’t always work out, but sometimes it does.” Though she was careful about her choices, she did admit that she made a few risky choices in her Pick 5 list. “It was a big ticket because it was a couple of long shots in the middle of it,” Reid told KENS5.
The biggest long shot in Reid’s five races was Funny Duck to win the Pat Day Mile, the third race of the day. According to official odds issued by the Kentucky Derby, Funny Duck’s odds were 39-1. It was a risky bet to make, but for Reid, it ultimately paid off.
Although Reid’s $18 bet resulted in a pretty amazing outcome, she was not the only person to win big on the Kentucky Derby. According to a report from ESPN, another bettor, who has remained unidentified, placed a $500 bet on Justify to win all the way back in February. He was given odds of 300-1 from Johnny Avello, executive director of Wynn Las Vegas’ race and sportsbook. After Justify won, the bettor received a $150,000 payout.
So what does Reid plan on doing with all of her winnings? She told KENS5 that she plans on taking a vacation (the logical choice for most people who just won a lot of money), but she also plans to invest some of it. She also told KENS5 that she’ll be using a portion of it for her daughter’s education, saying: “I have a young daughter that’s going to be going to college in three years, so some of it will go there.”
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