[Dunbar]

Originally Posted by Rupert Pupkin

When people talk about "bridge-jumpers", they are referring to the fools out there who will bet a huge amount like $50,000 or $100,000 to show on a heavy favorite. They bet $100,000 to show and they know the most they are going to get is $2.10. They are risking $100,000 to win $5,000. They do it because they think there is no way that the horse will run out of the money. They think they are going to make a quick 5% on their money.

But if they lose the bet, they are probably going to contemplate suicide(jump off a bridge). That's where the term came from. We call them bridge-jumpers because if they lose their $100,000 show bet, they're probably going to feel like jumping off a bridge.

If it were truly an awful bet made by "fools", then you would not see tracks canceling show betting in 5-horse races as often as you do when there is a monster fav. Of course, I cannot rule out the possibility that the tracks are foolish to cancel. But the tracks obviously fear the bridge-jumpers in some cases.

--Dunbar