Great opportunity to play for a score, the place is Gulfstream Park, where today's Rainbow Pick 6 is estimated to reach 3 million dollars.
Ticket structure is going to be all the rage, it's like golf, and who better to talk about golf than the late Robin Williams, he could have done this skit on a pick 6, because even on pick 6 ticket 'they put shite in the way'.
To hit the pick 6, you have to strategize your ticket, but there is a catch, regardless of structure, you have to pick winners.
You are not the only one playing, there is hundreds of players, some whom show up with a bag of monies. Yes, size matters but in my experience it is your ability to narrow down in races your are confident in and spread in races you are not.
Many players, needlessly, use horses they don't like, just because they don't want to get beat by them, using horses you don't like its just done to give you hope.
To structure your ticket, stop worrying about a single, you can double single in 1 or 2 races, for example:
Leg 1: 5 horses (include price plays and if you don't like a short priced horse don't use)
Leg 2: 2 horses
Leg 3: 4 horses
Leg 4: 4 horses
Leg 5: 2 horses
Leg 6: 4 horses
That is a $256 ticket for .20 cents.
On the sheet we structured a $230 ticket, but you know horseplayers are not happy unless they also look at a saver, and a follow up pick 5, and pick 4.
Concentrate on one play.
We used only one race with a double single and 3 races with 4 horses.
We didn't use horses we don't like, we didn't handicap with the morning line in mind, because morning lines suck. They are no good, the worse, ever. They are misleading.
The only time I look at action on the tote is in the first leg of any horizontal wagers. What do I look for?
I look at confusion with the betting, if no one in the field is getting substantial action, I know its wide open, if there is a prohibitive favorite in the opening leg, then there is your collective 'who's everybody singling?'
Too many people getting in line on a horse means I am looking someplace else.
I am going to pick the winners with a hint of skepticism, if it is too good to be true, it usually is.
The bandwagon is full of players that will play the logical horses, and how many times we have seen illogical horses make the ticket for a score.
There is 3 million ways to lose a pick 6, but only one way to win. Pick the winners.