New 'Single 6 Jackpot' to Highlight Fall Meet Wagering Menu

Oct 23, 2013 Darren Rogers

Churchill Downs Racetrack will debut the new 50-cent “Single 6 Jackpot” – a multi-race wager with a low minimum and big-payout dynamic – when racing returns to the Louisville racetrack for its 25-day Fall Meet on Sunday (Oct. 27).

Much like its conventional $2 Pick 6 predecessor, the Single 6 Jackpot will challenge bettors to correctly pick the winners of six consecutive races. But there’s an exciting new twist with the potential of a big payday if there’s only one winning wager in the sequence.

Bettors that have the highest number of winners in the six-race sequence will equally share 80-percent of the net money wagered into the pool. The remaining 20-percent of the net pool, however, will carry to the Single 6 Jackpot if there are multiple winning wagers with six winners placed at the required minimum bet value, which is sold in affordable denominations of 50 cents.

The Single 6 Jackpot will be paid out only if there is a single winning wager with six winners placed at the required minimum bet value.

Again, there can be only one winning wager for the jackpot to be paid. If a bettor hits the Single 6 Jackpot twice on one ticket – meaning he or she “scratched into the favorite” and used both horses in the race; or used two horses in a race and they finished in a dead-heat; or played the same 50-cent ticket twice for a total of $1 – he or she is not eligible for the jackpot aspect. There can only be a single winning wager placed at the required minimum bet value for the jackpot to be paid.

The low probability of a single winning wager means there’s a high chance for the jackpot to grow daily and reach lottery-like levels, which creates tremendous excitement and the possibility of a financial windfall and score of a lifetime. 

There is one exception: the jackpot must be paid out on the final day of the five-week meet (Saturday, Nov. 30), which means all money, including the jackpot, will be distributed that day to those with the highest number of winners in the six-race sequence.

The new wager is similar to other variations of the Pick 6 that offer jackpots with a unique carryover aspect. However, Churchill Downs’ Single 6 Jackpot features a more bettor-friendly 80/20 split of the net pool compared to the 60/40 distribution in some jurisdictions.

Because there is a unique carryover facet, there will be no minor consolation payoffs. For example, if there are multiple winning wagers with six winners, there will be no consolation payoff for five winners.

Churchill Downs Racetrack received approval to offer the wager to bettors during a Kentucky Horse Racing Commission meeting in Lexington on Tuesday (Oct. 22).

The Single 6 Jackpot wager will be offered daily on Races 3-8, which typically begins its run just after 1:30 p.m. (all times Eastern) and continues through 4:30 p.m. on most race days. Racing programs, usually featuring 10 races, will be staged every Wednesday-Sunday during the Fall Meet and start at 12:40 p.m. The only exceptions are programs on Nov. 1 (2 p.m.), Nov. 2 (2:15 p.m.), Nov. 16 (4:30 p.m.) and Nov. 28 (11:30 a.m.).

In addition to the Single 6 Jackpot, Churchill Downs’ Fall Meet wagering menu will feature $2 Win, Place and Show (all races); $2 Exactas and $1 boxes and wheels (all races); 50-cent Trifectas (all races with five or more betting interests); 10-cent Superfectas (all races with six or more betting interests); $1 Super Hi-5 (final race); rolling $1 Doubles and 50-cent Pick 3s; and 50-cent Pick 4s (Races 1-4; Races 4-7 and final four races daily) and a 50-cent Pick 5 (final five races daily). Additionally, parlay wagering is available for on-track patrons on up to six races on all Win, Place and/or Show pools.

Churchill Downs, the world’s most legendary racetrack, has conducted Thoroughbred racing and presented America’s greatest race, the Kentucky Derby, continuously since 1875. Located in Louisville, the flagship racetrack of Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ: CHDN) also operates Trackside at Churchill Downs, which offers year-round simulcast wagering at the historic track. Churchill Downs will conduct the 140^th running of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands on May 3, 2014, and its Fall Meet is scheduled for Oct. 27-Nov. 30. The track has hosted the Breeders’ Cup World Championships a record eight times. Information about Churchill Downs can be found on the Internet at www.ChurchillDowns.com.

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