Pick 6 carryovers coast to coast

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The second-largest crowd in Kentucky Derby history left a nice little parting gift for the everyday horseplayer at Churchill Downs. Consisting primarily of winning longshots, most notably Derby winner Giacomo, the pick six went unhit Saturday, leaving a carryover pool of $471,588 into Wednesday.

This is the third time in four years that the pick six has not been solved on Derby Day, resulting in a big carryover for Churchill fans to target following the customary three-day break in live racing. Following normal betting patterns, the final pick six pool on Wednesday should reach well past $1 million.

In 2002, after War Emblem upset the Derby, the carryover into the following Wednesday was $364,152. And last year, after longshots preceded the win by Smarty Jones in the Derby, the pick six not only carried over to Wednesday but lasted one additional day, resulting in a track-record pick six pool of $2,891,518 when it was finally won on May 6, 2004. That pool was split among 33 winners, each earning $63,045.

Wednesday's pick six covers races 5 through 10. First post at Churchill is 1:15 p.m. Eastern, with the fifth race set for 3:15.

Race 5: If recent form means anything, then , with Rafael Bejarano to ride, should be tough to beat as the favorite. Only six fillies and mares were entered - an unusually small field for any pick six race on a post-Derby Wednesday - making this a logical spot to single a horse. Two would-be contenders, Factory Reject and Bella Bianca, enter off lengthy layoffs, while Weatherwise is entered off a sharp runner-up finish in her latest at Keeneland.

Race 6: This $20,000 maiden-claiming sprint figures to invoke plenty of guesswork, because all three first-time starters - Loveable Rascal, Shoebootie, and World Emissary - come from stables known to produce "live" beginners. Besides those fresh faces, the other logical contenders are , who takes a subtle class drop after finishing a creditable second in his debut 10 days ago, and Western Threads, whose form came around slowly but steadily at Oaklawn Park this spring.

Race 7: You don't see a lot of turf routes for starter-allowance horses, and with this field's nine horses having made their last starts at six different tracks, this looks like a tricky one. might be the one to beat if he can repeat his March 25 effort at Gulfstream, but several others also look very capable, including Triple X., Gulf News, and Cupid's Honour. If the race happens to come off the grass, then Paging becomes everyone's single.

Race 8: The water gets very deep here. A player could use five or six of these dozen 3-year-olds, some of whom have dabbled in stakes company, and still not feel overly confident of staying alive. Maybe the inside six posts hold the stronger half of the field, including , Retrospect, Bryceslittlesecret, and El Hielo Hombre, but that doesn't mean a stranger can't jump up and win from just about anywhere in the gate.

Race 9: There's little question that if is as good at 4 as he was at 3, then he deserves to be a widely used single. But the colt has been off for more than 10 months, and although Pat Byrne has had him in steady training for more than four months now, such a long layoff normally leaves room for reasonable doubt.

Race 10: The finale looks like one of those extremely competitive turf races for maidens. Of the main body of 10, perhaps only and Shifty Belle might be reasonably tossed, although both have grass pedigrees that make that a risky move - so good luck closing this one out.