by Gabe Prewitt, for Pompano Park

Pompano Beach, FL — Cheap N Easy (Dan Clements) may have kicked off the Pick-4 on Monday evening at Pompano Park, but it was far from an accurate description of how the sequence would end up for patrons.

Cheap N Easy bested seven other rivals to the tune of $70.20, in a wild finish where less than four lengths covered the lot as they crossed under the wire.

Despite consecutive post time favorites in the middle legs of the Pick-4 sequence, the wager eluded fans after Beach Bluster (David Ingraham) rallied from far back to finish a nose the best in the decisive leg at odds of 10-1.

The result is a $7,691 carryover into the Tuesday night (Dec. 23) Pick-4, where track officials have partnered with the USTA Strategic Wagering Program for a $25,000 guaranteed pool. The Pick-4 is a nightly wager on races five–eight, featuring a 50 cent minimum and an industry low takeout of only 12 percent.

The 20 cent Jackpot Hi-Five carryover narrowly escaped on Monday night as well, with only three tickets out in the finale even with the 5-2 favorite, Taylor B Swift (Bruce Ranger), picking up the victory. The consolation payout returned $802.68 to the three winners on Monday night, with $8,968 carrying over into the Tuesday nightcap.

In order to win the entire jackpot, there must be only one unique winner in the Hi-Five. If there are multiple winning tickets, half the nightly pool is paid out with the other half adding to the carryover.

The jackpot has been paid twice in the last two weeks, returning $10,889 on Dec. 9 and $6,973 on Dec. 15. Oddly enough, the same horse (Taylor B Swift) won on both evenings as the post time favorite. The win on Monday was her third consecutive as the favorite in a Jackpot Hi Five race, but the carryover remained with multiple fans coming up with the winning combination.

Live racing continues at the Isle Casino Pompano Park on a five night per week schedule, with live racing on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday evenings with a first post of 7:30 p.m. There will be no live racing the next two Wednesday nights (Dec. 24 and Dec. 31).