One lucky bettor turned $0.50 into more than $500,000 in one day betting on horse races

• One bettor at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida had the weekend of a lifetime, turning a 50-cent bet into $500,000 after correctly predicting the winners of the first five races on Saturday.
• The big day at the track came with some huge upsets, including a 73-1 longshot taking the win in the first race of the day.
• According to reports, the $524,966.50 payday was the fifth-highest payout for a Pick 5 in U.S. horse racing history.
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The sports world at large is on pause, but some bettors are still finding ways to hit on big paydays.

Over the weekend at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida, one lucky bettor turned a 50-cent "Pick 5" bet into $524,966.50 after correctly picking the winners of the first five races of the day.

The bettor was helped along by some impressive long shots cashing early. In the first race of the day, No. 8 Freddy Soto won as a 73-1 long shot. According to Ben Fawkes at ESPN, the horse had beaten just five horses in his previous three races before his win on Saturday. No. 4 Union Lane, the second winner of the day, came into the race in similarly poor form, having finished in front of 11 total horses in her previous seven races.

The bettor was left with a winning ticket after calling those two winners, as well as the next three — No. 1 He's a Babe, No. 3 Enzoexpress, and No. 6 Lashara — to take home more than half a million in winnings.

According to Ed DeRosa, director of marketing for Brisnet.com, the official data source of the Kentucky Derby and TwinSpires, the Pick 5 payout was one of the largest in the history of American horse racing.

With casinos closed and the sports world on hold, horse racing is one of the few outlets bettors can still turn to for a bit of action. When a few long shots are able to come through and cash, the paydays can be quite impressive.

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