... assuming the top three horses and their payoffs were:

1st ----- Katie Bar the Door ----- $15 to win, $5 to place, $3 to show
2nd ----- Trav's Pigeon ----------- $8 to place, $4 to show
3rd ----- Reno Sweetness ---------- $5 to show

Payoffs in parimutual betting work like this:

If you bet on a horse to win, you collect only if the horse wins (in this case, Katie Bar the Door would pay $15 for the win).

If you bet on a horse to place, you collect if the horse finishes either 1st or second. In this case, if you bet on Katie Bar the Door to place, the payoff would be $5; and if you bet on Trav's Pigeon to place, the payoff would be $8.

If you bet on a horse to show, you collect if the horse finishes anywhere in the money. Here, Katie Bar the Door would pay $3; Trav's Pigeon $4; and Reno Sweetness $5.

Then, assume our participants selected horses as follows:

------------------- 1st ---------------- 2nd ---------------- 3rd ----------
Player #1 --- Reno Sweetness ------ Devil's Gate -------- Katie Bar the Door
Player #2 --- Katie Bar the Door -- Ask for Help -------- Devil's Gate
Player #3 --- Bill's Windows ------ Trav's Pigeon ------- Reno Sweetness
Player #4 --- Devil's Gate -------- Hold 'Em High ------- Bill's Windows
Player #5 --- Reno Sweetness ------ Katie Bar the Door -- Trav's Pigeon

Payoffs (scoring) would be as follows:

Player #1 --- $3 (for KBTD to show)
Player #2 --- $15 (for KBTD to win)
Player #3 --- $13 ($8 for TP to place + $5 for RS to show)
Player #4 --- $0 (no horses in the money)
Player #5 --- $9 ($5 for KBTD to place + $4 for TP to show)

Player #2 would finish first in the pool standings, with Player #3 in second and Player #5 in third. Pool payoffs would depend on the number of entries.

Hope that helps.

BTW, we have one entry already (the Early Bird Handicapper). ----- jim o\-S