By Marc Platt
Racing On The Net dot com

The newest and most intriguing bet at the race track these days is the Pick Four. A lot of people are complaining that exotics pools have become watered down and it is hard enough just to make money on a win bet, let alone picking four straight winners.
I'm here to tell you it can be done and it won't cost you an arm and a leg to hit the wager if you play it smartly. I will focus on Southern California, but most of the tracks have the same set-up for their programs. 

The wager takes place in the last four legs of the card and it is a one-dollar wager. On the weekdays, it is races 5-8 in Southern California. The first leg is usually a maiden race or cheap claimer. Depending on the type of race, you may have to spread (use more than 1 horse) in each leg. 

Let's say the first leg is a $10K claimer. You need to handicap the race like any other. Separate the contenders and the non-threats. If you can narrow it down to the two horses you think have the best chance, then lets go with that. #1 & #5.
The second leg is a grass allowance race with 12 horses entered. You have it narrowed down to three (3) horses who can win. A favorite, a mid-priced runner and a longshot. #3, #7 & #10.
In Southern California, many weekday features are short fields. In this case it is a 6-horse field of NW1 allowance horses. This may be a good place to single (use only one horse) on your ticket. Go with the best horse. I try to look at the pace, figures and style of the runner I am backing. If I can catch this horse, it won't matter if he is an odds-on favorite or decent price. These races often run true to form. I'll use #5.

The finale is usually a cheap maiden claiming race. I try to spread at least three (3) deep in these races. #1, #2 & #3. The ticket that I have laid out costs $18.00. You can play alternate tickets along with your main ticket. It is worth the investment if you are right. The wager is still new enough that it overlays (pays better than it should). A good example is one I hit recently when the 2nd choice won the first leg ($8.00), a favorite ($6.20) won the next leg. My single ($5.80) was 2nd wagering choice and in the finale a $7.00 favorite won. 

The Pick Threes from races 5-7 paid $58.00 and the Pick Three from 6-8 paid $52.00 for a $1 Pick Three. My Pick Four on an $18.00 investment came back $324.00. Case closed.

THE PICK SIX

The ultimate handicapping feat. The one that separates the players from the novices. The Pick Six was introduced 2 decades ago and has elevated the horse player's expertise to a level not seen before.

The modern player uses every conceivable bit of information available to hedge his/her chances at hitting this impossible, but lucrative score. Horse players use computers, clocking information, speed & pace figures, breeding statistics, psychics, voodoo doctors etc...

I have two painful Pick Six stories that happened within a month of each other in 1996.

The first one occurred on my birthday at Santa Anita. I put in a $36.00 ticket and hit the first 4 legs and seemed to be cruising along to my 5th straight, when the stewards decided to take down Danebo Stampede, after a seemingly easy wire to wire victory.

Of course my 5 to 1 cruised home in the ninth. I'm not going to complain about a $648.00 consolation, but I know in my heart I hit that Pick Six.

On Kentucky Derby Eve, I went out to Hollywood Park for Friday night racing. That night I put in a $16.00 ticket and watched in amazement as the first 5 legs came in easily.

I had 2 horses in the last race who were parked on the outside in a 7 1/2 furlong one turn race. You want to be on the outside at Hollywood Park in any sprint. To my shock and surprise, I watched a horse called Minifirm wire the field from the rail with my 2 horses finishing 2nd and 3rd, a length back. Minifirm hadn't won a race in 2 years. I should know, I used to co-own him. I thought there was no way he could win this race. Ouch. The Pick Six paid over $12,000 that night. My friends laughed their heads off that night and haven't let me forget it since.

I don't know if these experiences make me an expert at the Pick Six, but I do know how to play the wager without going into bankruptcy.

The best cards to play the Pick Six vary. You should wait for a program with the kind of plays you like. Try to isolate races where there is a standout in your mind, and preferably a non-favorite you can single. If you can come up with 2 or 3 singles that are mid-priced (4 to 1 or higher), you could be sitting on a smasher.

Each time a non-favorite wins a Pick Six race, many tickets are eliminated from the pool. Mid-priced horses are a Pick Six player's best friend. The payouts can be very generous on days when 5 to 1 and 6 to 1 shots come in.

I will take you through a typical Pick Six ticket with the odds listed next to the name of the horse. I will use 2 singles (only pick for that particular race). The ticket won't cost much and there will be value in the bet.

RACE # 4: Thunder Gulch (4-1), Go For Gin (8-1)

RACE # 5: Seabiscuit (5-1)

RACE # 6: Secretariat (2-1), Affirmed (8-1)

RACE # 7: Man O War (even)

RACE # 8: Seattle Slew (8-5), Count Fleet (10-1)

RACE # 9: Citation (4-1), Cigar (6-1)

Total cost of ticket: $32.00

The key to hitting this bet and making a huge score is to eliminate horses that don't have to win. In the 8th race we want Count Fleet to beat the favorite Seattle Slew. Slew is tough and deserves to be favored and we can't leave him out, so we play them both. Man O War looks like an unbeatable favorite in the 7th. Seabiscuit is our key horse of the entire Pick Six, if he can come in at 6-1.

We pretty much have done our homework on the rest of the races and just need the racing gods to be kind and just maybe we'll walk out of their with some big cash.

The Pick Six is not easy to hit. Sometimes it takes nerves of steel to sit through 6 races, with a lot of money invested in the wager.

Try to keep your investment low and be open minded about which favorites you can eliminate. Somewhere down the line you'll have to take a stand on a horse, and that can be the difference between a big win or another frustrating Pick Six loss. Be brave and consistent and one day you'll make that big score.

On May 23, 1998 I finally hit a Pick Six. It paid $9,277.00. It felt great.

TRIFECTAS

Probably the most popular bet in Southern California is the trifecta. There are several ways of approaching this wager. The results can be enormous if the right combination is used. You can make quite a score in one race with very little money if you know the right way to play the tri.

I don't like to box 3 or 4 horses, because of the cost involved. If you box 3 horses for a dollar, the total cost of the bet is $6.00. I would rather take a stand and key the horse I like over 3 other horses, preferably longshots. That bet will cost you the same $6.00, and you might have a better chance at getting one of the longer shots home.

It is very important to remember that the odds on any given horse are the odds of that horse to win the race. If an animal is 20 to 1, that means that the public doesn't think this horse can win. Why can't the horse run 2nd or 3rd at 20 to 1. It happens all the time. The public usually bets the speedy horses down. Well we all know that horses rarely run around the track in the same order, start to finish. Usually one of the speed horses tires and drops out of contention. That's when our 20 to 1 closer picks up the pieces and gets into the tri and messes up the chalk trifecta players.

You can make quite a killing playing this bet if you keep an open mind.

I might play 2 horses in the top spot (win), 3 horses in the 2 hole, and 4 horses in the 3rd spot:

1: #6 & #10

2: #6 & #7 & #10

3: #1 & #6 & #7 #10

This bet will cost you $8.00, and is worth the money because you are narrowing the field down.

There are lots of ways to play the trifecta, but keeping the cost down and good money management are always the way to go. You don't want to blow all your profits. Remember, if you have a longshot you like, don't hesitate to play him in a trifecta. Don't forget to play that horse in a straight win bet. Good longshot plays don't come up in every race.

I don't suggest playing trifectas in races where short price horses figure 1-2-3. You need price horses to make the bet worthwhile.

I'll repeat myself one last time, the best way to play a trifecta is to key one horse on top of 3 or 4 horses for 2nd and 3rd.

Good luck.....

HANDICAPPING: KEEPING IT SIMPLE

by Marc Platt

I think we've all as race handicappers, tried to come up with that big angle play that will help us get rich quick. There are exactas, quinellas, pick 3's, pick 6's, place 9's, trifectas and superfectas to keep our big dreams alive.

I'm here to tell you about bets that will be new to most of you who are relatively new to the game. These bets are called WIN, PLACE, SHOW. Believe it or not, you can make a killing at the track by hitting a few of these betsa day.

There are people at the track who pay careful attention to the WIN, PLACE & SHOW pools and actually cash a lot of tickets daily when their 5 to 1 horse runs second in a race, because most of us are so obsessed with picking the winner, we forget that a 5 to 1 horse who runs second might pay as well as a 2 to 1 winner.

Now I know you can come back to me andpoint out the value of exactas and how you can key your horse in the two hole of an exacta and maybe collect big if a longshot comes in. This is true, but that can get very expensive andI only want to concentrate on my one horse. Keep it simple.

The modern horse player lives in a world of exotics, and I'm not saying that it is wise to abandon these wagers, but sometimes a win bet is the best value in a particular race. Let's face it, there are very few things in life as satisfying to a horse player as collecting on a win bet at long odds.

So, my friends, as someone is immersed in exotic wagers, I say sometimes it is good to go back to the basics and keep it simple. A winner is anywhere you find it. WIN, PLACE and SHOW is here to stay, so give it a look next time you're at the races.