The sixth race at Del Mar on a random Saturday last July should not have been memorable in any way. Running for an $81,000 purse, a 4-year-old Thoroughbred named Nanci Griffith won the one-mile race and paid $14.80 to win on a $2 bet.
But for many of those who backed the winner, the payout was a massive disappointment. As the gate opened, the tote board showed Nanci Griffith’s odds at 18-1. When she crossed the wire, however, the odds had changed to 6-1, meaning those who held winning tickets collected less than half of what they might have expected at post time.
