Racing: The long shot for $1 million reward

Photo / Richard Robinson

There is no questioning the truth that the home straight in horse racing is the boulevard of broken dreams.

That narrow strip of grass has brought great wealth to some and enormous heartbreak to others.

In the remarkable way the Universe works, the horse - regarded as man's servant - has the final say in racing's success for humans.

It won't be any different as punters chase a million dollars in the Pick6 at Ellerslie this afternoon.

When the last race is released at around 5.26pm, there is potential for someone to be sitting on the only live ticket staring at a million dollars.

It's possible you could be that person for an outlay of just $3.

But only barely possible.

If there are live tickets going into the last race, they will almost certainly be held by syndicates that have spent considerable amounts to cover as many bases as possible in the previous five Pick6 legs.

If you have interested friends, form a syndicate and cover as much as possible in each of the six legs.

Don't forget you have to go back past the last six million-dollar Pick6 jackpots to 2004 for one that did not include a winner at $26 or greater.

percentage bets, down to 10 per cent, provide punters with the best chance of affording a ticket with significant cover across all six legs.

For example, to take three horses in each leg for the full amount would cost $365. Drop that down to 20 per cent and the $72 becomes affordable.

If you can get an anchor in your selections it dramatically reduces the cost. On the 3x3x3x3x3x3 format, if you were to reduce one of those legs to a single selection the cost would drop from $365 to $142 for a full unit, with the potential to drop that back further with a percentage bet.

On form, the best chance of an anchor appears to be Dating, a class 3-year-old filly. Dating in Race 7, the third Pick6 leg, has had three starts on heavy ground for three wins.

With a clear run, she probably would have won last week's Gold Trail Stakes at Hastings instead of finishing third and that seven-day back-up will have her rock-hard in fitness to cope with Ellerslie's very testing conditions this afternoon.

The ARC is offering a four-per-cent rebate on all Pick6 investments over $1000 placed at the track today.

Massive payouts are the norm for Pick6 jackpots of a million dollars.

The last one that didn't include a double-figure odds winner had dividends of $6.50, $4.85, $3.50, $9.10, $6,05 and $3.60. You don't have to be a genius to win one of those, just have a reasonably good spread.

There were 77.16 units that got that one right in 2004 for a payout of $25,920 each.