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June 13, 2023
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June 13, 2023Betting the Pick 3, Pick 4, Pick 5 or Pick 6 is an exciting way to bet on horse racing especially if you plan on being by your computer all day to enjoy the entire racing card. To win all you have to do is pick winners in consecutive races. That is not as easy as it sounds, so there are some things you can do to increase your chances of hitting it big.
Types of Picks Bets
The $1 minimum Pick 3 wheel offered by most tracks makes it affordable for the average bettor to tie up numerous horses without having to spend a fortune.
A $1 Pick 3 wheel combining horses 5,6 to win the first leg with horses 2,3,4 to win the second leg with horses 7,8,9 to win the third leg represents 18 possible combinations (2 horses * three horses * three horses) at a cost of $18 and would appears as:
$1 Pick 3 wheel 5,6 with 2,3,4 with 7,8,9 = $18
A straight Pick 3 that includes one horse in each leg can also be bet for a minimum of $2 at most tracks. For example, a $2 straight Pick 3 selecting horse 5 to win the first leg, horse 6 to win the second leg and horse 10 to win the third leg would appears as:
$2 Pick 3 5 with 6 with 10 = $2.
The same rules apply to the Pick 4, Pick 5 and Pick 6.
Pick 6 Betting
An example of a single $2 Pick 6 wager would be as follows:
$2 Pick 6: 4/7/2/3/4/1
The bettor in this illustration has picked one horse to win each “leg” of the wager:
Race 1 winner is Horse #4.
Race 2 winner is Horse #7.
Race 3 winner is Horse #2.
Race 4 winner is Horse #3.
Race 5 winner is Horse #4.
Race 6: winner is Horse #1
In order to increase their chances of winning, bettors can also place several bets on one or more races, but because there are so many possible winning combinations, the expenses quickly escalate. All other bets made at the track are unrelated to the Pick 6 betting pool. All wagering proceeds from Pick 6 bets are combined into a single pool and held there until a winning ticket is submitted.
Pick Six Carryovers
Weeks may pass with no Pick 6 winner since the Pick 6 is so challenging to win. The track takes its takeout from the pool and rolls it over to the next day if a race card ends without a Pick 6 winner. When days go by without a winner, the betting pool keeps expanding until someone takes home the entire pot.
Costs of Placing a Pick Six Bet
The straight Pick 6 is a cheap bet, but if punters choose to place numerous bets on one or more races, the cost of the stake skyrockets. A single Pick 6 wager can be made for as low as $2 at the majority of racetracks. One prediction can be made for each of the six races in a single wager, so a flawless forecast is required to win the bet. If they are ready to spend more money, bettors can boost their chances of winning by placing several bets on one or more legs. However, because there are so many different ways to win the race, the costs for doing so quickly escalate.
For instance, increasing the number of picks in a $2 Pick 6 from 2 to 2 boosts the whole cost from $2 to $128. The cost increases to $1,458 if you choose to make three selections for each race just once. From there, it only becomes more expensive.
Pick 6 Payouts
The majority of the largest payouts ever recorded in horse racing came from the Pick 6 wager. When the betting pool for the 20-cent Rainbow 6 at Gulfstream Park surpassed $15 million in March 2016, it broke all prior records. Bettor contributions to the pool in one day totaled more than $10 million due to the size of the jackpot and the news of a required payout. In the end, 147 tickets predicted each of the six winners accurately. Following track takeout, the payoff for each $0.20 ticket was $89,456.54.
In July 2007, 13 bettors submitted perfect tickets at Hollywood Park, setting a then-record pool of $10,870,852.60, for the second-largest Pick 6 payout ever. Each winner won more than $576,000, while 807 tickets that predicted five winners each received $2,240.40 as consolation prizes.
One of the biggest payments ever given to a single ticketholder was a $6,678,939.12 Pick 6 win made by a Gulfstream Park bettor in May 2014. The bettor was a long-time horse owner, and his ticket cost over $7,600 and covered numerous combinations.
