Both big jackpots hit by many
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Leftovers from Kentucky Derby Day resulted in bonanza payoffs for horseplayers chasing the pick six and super high five Wednesday at Churchill Downs. Winning $2 tickets in the pick six returned $33,557.80, while a winning $1 ticket in the super high five paid $15,509.20.
With huge carryovers in both pools, bettors fired with both barrels. The pick six, held on races 4-9, began with a jackpot of $781,145, to which another $2,680,729 was added. The super five, conducted on the ninth race, started with $251,856, with another $1,032,668 pouring in.
Only one favorite, High Quail in the sixth race, won during the pick six sequence, although none of the other winners was sent off at odds of higher than 7-1. Churchill reported 72 perfect tickets being sold on the 5-3-2-4-3-5 combination. Starting with the fourth race, the winning horses and payoffs were Five Star Sweetie ($9.40), Formal Dannie ($6.60), High Quail ($4), Emma's Posse ($10.60), Tap Dancing ($7.20), and Shot Gun Cliff ($16.40).
Tickets with five of six winners returned $252.60.
This was the fifth time in the last six years that the pick six had not been won on Kentucky Derby Day, resulting in a large carryover for the following Wednesday. The Derby victory by Mine That Bird, a 50-1 shot, was a major factor in the big carryovers.
In the super high five, which requires selecting the first five finishers in exact order, the winning numbers were 5-1-8-3-4, with 70 winning tickets being sold. In a nine-horse field, the respective odds of the first five finishers were 7-1, 7-1, 6-1, 7-1, and 7-2. The 5-2 favorite, Mr. Champ, finished sixth.
Friday will be the last day for Churchill to offer the super high five in its present form, and therefore a mandatory payout is required, even if there are no perfect tickets. Churchill is switching to its "Z-5" scheme in tandem with sister tracks Calder and Arlington on Saturday. In the Z-5, carryover jackpots move from track to track in the case of no perfect tickets being sold.