NEWS
One pick six winner yields $1.8-million ticket
Posted: Monday, November 09, 2009 1:54 PM
by Ed DeRosa
The Ultra Pick Six on Championship Saturday of the two-day Breeders’ Cup program was extremely lucrative for one bettor who held the only winning ticket worth $1,838,305.20 plus several consolations.
The unidentified bettor, who placed his or her wager through the South Dakota-based account wagering provider Royal River Racing, played multiple tickets, but the one that included the winning combination cost $48 and singled TVG Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) winner Goldikova (Ire) and Emirates Airline Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1) winner Conduit (Ire).
Going into the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1), the winning ticket was live to Zenyatta or Rip Van Winkle (Ire). The latter would have paid $919,152.60 because there was also another ticket live to Rip Van Winkle. The only other horse live in the Classic was Colonel John for the same amount as Zenyatta. All other starters would have resulted in a five of six payout.
Total handle on the Ultra Pick Six was $3,313,224, a 15% increase versus last year and much more than the $2-million guaranteed by Breeders’ Cup Ltd.
The 2009 payout is the third highest in Breeders’ Cup Pick Six history and marks the third time in 13 years that only one winning ticket was sold. There also have been three occasions in which there were no perfect tickets.
Ed DeRosa is news editor of Thoroughbred Times
