blow up the tote

verb

To win a race as a long shot.

“Giacomo blew up the tote by winning the 2005 Kentucky Derby at odds of 50-1.”

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Meanings

verbblow up the tote (third-person singular simple present blows up the tote, present participle blowing up the tote, simple past blew up the tote, past participle blown up the tote)

present singular third person blows up the tote · participle present blowing up the tote · past blew up the tote · participle past blown up the tote · alternative light up the tote

  1. hobbiesTo win a race as a long shot.

    Giacomo blew up the tote by winning the 2005 Kentucky Derby at odds of 50-1.

Origin

From the whimsical notion that the payout on a particularly high-priced longshot might be a larger number than the tote board is capable of computing and/or displaying.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

blow up the tote. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/blow%20up%20the%20tote

MLA

“blow up the tote.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/blow%20up%20the%20tote. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “blow up the tote,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/blow%20up%20the%20tote.

Source: blow up the tote on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.