Among all of the Breeders’ Cup bets that will be made available this weekend, no payout is subject to a greater degree of variability than the Pick Six. In fact, so wildly do the payouts fluctuate that payouts can vary from $45,000 to $3.8 million.
The Breeders Cup Pick Six is one of the difficult and most lucrative of all bets. In fact, if you can manage to pick the six winning horses of six designated Breeders’ Cup races on the same ticket, it is safe to say that you will clear $50,000 at the absolute bare minimum. Even with mostly favorites winning, you can at least put a down payment on a new home.
The likelihood is that the payoff will be much more. Because of the large fields, and groups of horses who have never faced each other coming together, there is the potential for not only chaos, but for overlooking long shots.
Before you start salivating too much, know that this is a very difficult bet to hit. But if you manage to pull it off, you can start planning your retirement.
Just to give a few examples of how much the Pick Six can potentially pay:
In 2002, 2004, and 2005, no one was able to correctly pick the set of six winning horses on a single ticket. If anyone had been able to do so they would’ve been the sole winner and collected at least $2.5 million. Even in 2005, selecting five out of the six winners would have netted you $90,000.
In 2000 the payoff was $45,000 for six correct, and in 2008 the payoff was $55,000 for six correct. In 2009, only one winner managed to pick six even with favorite Zenyatta winning the Classic. The lucky winner received $2,687,611 for the winning ticket. Last year, the Pick Six payout was almost as generous as it paid a cool $800,000, which implies that there were probably about three to five winners.
Of course the highest rewards are also associated with the highest risks, so know that this bet is one that has eluded even the most seasoned horse players.
We decided to take a theoretical shot at the Pick Six using three horses per race. Whether we actually play it remains to be seen. For now our expert panel has put together the following Pick Six ticket
Breeders Cup Turf Sprint: Carcortado, California Flag, Regally Ready
Breeders Cup Dirt Mile: The Factor, Tapizar, Wilburn,
Breeders Cup Turf: Sarafina, Sea Moon, Midday
Breeders Cup Juvenile: Union Rags, Crusade, Hansen
Breeders Cup Mile: Goldikova, Sidney’s Candy, Byword
Breeders Cup Classic: Uncle Mo, So You Think, Flat Out
Fantasy ticket cost: 3x3x3x3x3x3 x $2 = $1,458.
If you decide to take a stab at this year’s Breeders’ Cup Pick Six, good luck!
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