TurfPedia - The Horse Racing Encyclopedia

THE PICK 6

The Pick 6 is a serial bet, which requires the bettors to select the winners of six consecutive races. The purpose of Pick-6 wagering is to offer racing's customers a chance for a five-figure or six-figure w1ndfall. This happens most often in Southern California (Santa Anita, Hollywood and Del Mar).

The probability of hitting the Pick-6 is 1% or lower and the payoffs can be surprisingly low if favorites and low-priced contenders dominate the series. This makes the Pick 6 a poor bet on most days, At times no one wins the Pick 6 and a major portion of the pool becomes a carryover. The carryover is added to the next day's pool, which will be larger than normal. If carryovers occur for consecutive days, the betting on the Pick 6 the next day can be enormous and tremendous payoffs are eagerly anticipated.

As a rule, handicappers should limit Pick 6 wagering to carryover days, the free money the incentive which makes the bet rational.

The cost of the bet is equal to the number of horses selected in each leg multiplied together, and the total number of combinations multiplied by $2.00.

If three "singles" in three of the six legs are used, as well as two choices in each of the other three legs, that's 8 combinations, and the Pick-6 ticket costs $16.O0. Two of the singles should be non-favorites handicappers prefer.

The guiding principle of exotic wagering, bet small to win big, applies forcibly in Pick-6 wagering.

As in Pick-3 wagering, the Pick 6 will be most attractive when an odds-on favorite is false or vulnerable and can be omitted, and handicappers strongly prefer non-favorites in one or two of the remaining legs.