A woman from the Texas Hill Country has turned an $18 bet at the Kentucky Derby into a $1.2-million windfall! On Saturday, May 5, the Austin woman, identified as Margaret Reid, went to the Retama Park Race Track in Selma, Texas, and picked the top five horses in the order that they would finish. The Racing Director at Retama Park Race Track, located approximately 20 miles northeast of San Antonio, stated that her bet was considered the “unicorn of wagers.”
She won $1.2 million via her $18 “Pick 5” wager – which means she selected five consecutive winners in Races 8-12 at Churchhill Downs (with the Kentucky Derby being the last race of her wager). Her gamble was risky at best. When Justify, the winning horse from the Derby itself, came across the line, she had hit the jackpot.