Jonathan Lintner

@JonathanLintner

The last we saw Wes Welker, the NFL receiver was walking out of Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby Day with stacks of money and handing out hundred-dollar bills to strangers.

Churchill Downs spokesman Darren Rogers said Friday that "an individual believed to be a member of Wes Welker's group" received overpayment of more than $14,000 on a winning wager because of a tote error.

The track sent a letter to that individual "in an attempt to resolve the matter." Yes, Churchill wants its money back, but Welker is under no obligation to hand it over.

A horse owner who's no stranger to the business, Welker went on NBC's Dan Patrick Show on Friday and said he's not returning the winnings.

"Yeah, get in line," Welker said. "...I've heard about that. I've never heard of it actually happening, and supposedly my group got that. But we had no clue. They could have under-paid us and we wouldn't have known."

Rogers said that while it's common for Churchill Downs to reach out to customers about unclaimed winnings, it happens just about once in three years that the track overpays. In this case, a mutuel teller ended up $14,898.00 short at the end of Derby Day.

"It became very clear that the mistake occurred on our end when the patron was cashing several winning tickets after the Derby," Rogers said.

While cashing, the tote machine malfunctioned and went blank. When the screen came back on, a tote technician assumed that all work was lost in the meantime. It wasn't, and so tickets were re-run through the system.

Welker walked away with $57,193.90 instead of his actual due: $42,295.38. Churchill Downs, under Kentucky Horse Racing Commission statutes, is ultimately responsible for making up the lost money.

"At the end of the day, it's our mistake and we're not worried about the recovery," Rogers said. "We just hope they come back to Churchill Downs for next year's Derby with an extra $14,000 to burn."

The bulk of Welker's winnings — he's believed to have made the wagers and had a member of his entourage pick them up — came from including longshot Commanding Curve in his exacta, trifecta and superfecta wagers. Welker also told NBC's Patrick he bet the Dallas Stewart-trained colt across the board.

"I had a wad of tickets," he said. "Almost every single one won."

Then there was Welker, whose NFL salary was $2 million in 2013, distributing hundreds on his way out of the track.

"He said he just won the Kentucky Derby and proceeded to walk down the line until the police officer stopped him," Derby-goer Marc Blanford told USA Today on May 5. "I think six of us ended up with $100 bills."

"People wanted autographs and pictures and stuff coming down," Welker told Patrick, "and I was like, 'Wouldn't $100 be nicer?'"

Jonathan Lintner can be reached at (502) 582-4199; follow him on Twitter @JonathanLintner.