Cold weather wreaks havoc on Tuesday's racing

An already light racing day was further reduced on Tuesday when Parx Racing canceled their entire scheduled 10-race card. Cold temperatures and potential freezing precipitation prompted the move at the track outside Philadelphia.

All other racing locations held their sessions as scheduled, with their fair share of lucrative payouts. While most races went pretty much as expected, there were a few surprises that made some bettors very happy with their wagers.

Mahoning Valley's Race 4 was six furlongs for Maidens. Diamond Patriot's morning line was 6/1 as he broke from the inside post position. He came home the winner over eight other entrants and paid $15.80 for the win, $8.40 for the place bet and $4.80 for the show. The favorite Awesome Ox finished third and paid $2.40.

In Race 5, Gift from Mom was a 15/1 longshot in the first post position, and as the winner paid $38.40, $13.80 and $7.60. Favorite Best of You finished fourth in the nine-horse field, just out of the money.

At Delta Downs in Louisiana, the fourth race saw the biggest payout of the day for a single horse wager. Starting from post position five, D'Yeti Man was at 8/1 odds in the morning line. He went off at closer to 30/1 and paid $67.80, $20.40 and $7.00 for the win with six horses running after a scratch. Riskey Trickey was the favorite at 9/5 but finished out of the money in fourth.

The seventh race at Turf Paradise in Phoenix saw a pair of 20/1 morning line horses finish in first and second. Vivid Fever won from the fifth position, paying $19.20, $7.80 and $5.40. He was followed by Saltie Five, starting on the outside and paying $10.20 and $7.40. Favorite Shark Harbor was an also-ran in the 10-horse field after one entrant was scratched.

The next race saw Coyster start with early odds of 8/1 but, like D'Yeti Man, saw them tank by post time. The colt took advantage of the second post position to win in a 12-horse field, paying $66.00, $27.00 and $16.20. On a familiar theme, favorite Boozymilkshakebar finished just out of the money in fourth place.

In Quarter Horse action at Louisiana Downs in Bossier City, there were a pair of nice paydays for bettors. In the 220-yard fifth race, Desperedeux made the third post position work in the seven-horse field for a big payout of $33.20, $9.60 and $5.20. One Fast Game was the favorite and ran second to pay $3.20 and $2.60.

Two races later, Featured Prospect began the day at 8/1 and took off from the fourth position with six horses running. The winning bets paid $23.00, $6.80 and $4.80. Favorite Ivanka James finished well off the pace and out of the money.

Wednesday will feature live racing at nine tracks, highlighted by a day of stakes races at Delta Downs. The purses for the 10 races total $805,000, including $125,000 for the Louisiana Bred Premier Championship Stakes. The 1 1/16-mile race is open to horses four years old and up.