There is a mandatory payout at Mohawk Park tonight on the Jackpot Hi-5 and the carryover currently sits at $352,873.10. The Hi-5 rolls in Race 10 when an oversized field of 12 condition pacers battle for a share of a $24,000 purse. 

There are different schools of thought on how to allocate your betting dollars when there is a giant pool in a mandatory payout situation. My thinking is your betting risk in terms of dollars spent may increase as the pool expands but risk-reward parameters are still important. 

There are so many different ways to construct a bet for the Hi-5 I thought it would be best to write comments on the entire field without posting a ticket. As usually seems to be the case on mandatory payout night at Mohawk there aren't a lot of tosses and many horses appear to have a shot to hit the four or five slots on the ticket. So, it is very easy for ticket cost to go sky high. How someone wagers on the Hi-5 should be determined by how much risk they want to take, like with any other bet. 

On Friday night the drivers with the hottest hands at Mohawk were Jonathon Drury, Phil Hudon and Bob McClure who all made two trips to the winner's circle. No trainer on the card had more than one winner. 

Comments and selections below are based on a fast track. 

1-Champagne Phil (8-10)-This could be a spot to shine, drops to a better level and gets the wood, best to respect. 

2-Nickle Bag (12-1)-Gets post relief but form is suspect, would need to improve to hit the bottom of Hi-5 ticket. 

3-Ideal Jet (9/2)-Back to a better level, using underneath but thinking a win isn't in the cards. 

4-Bills Fella (5-1)-Has been bet hard and will likely again, best to use although won't be at the top of my ticket. 

5-Heza Thrill N (8-1)-Hasn't taken frequent pictures this year but is a use tonight and could win it all. 

6-McKinney (10-1)-Not a top 3 candidate but can pace to the wire, if all the stars aligned could hit bottom of ticket. 

7-Make Some Luck (6-1)-Only 6 starts this year and off close to a month, lots of question marks, looks like a toss. 

8-East End (10-1)-May blast out and stay in the hunt, will use as a Hi-5 participant, needs the right trip to win. 

9-Acting Out (10-1)-Should like the company, will respect connections and use. Could surprise with a trip. 

10-Some Playa (15-1)-Seems in deep and post won't help the cause, looks like a toss. 

11-Walter Mitty (10-1)-Not a win candidate from this post but with some racing luck could hit the bottom of ticket. 

12-Shades Of Bay (8-1)-Henry & Budd have a high win %, should be a square price and in the mix with a trip. 

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