It is not a new Star Wars movie. Beginning on Wednesday, August 7th at Saratoga Race Course the New York Racing Association introduced the Empire 6, a jackpot-style multi-race bet replacing the traditional Pick 6 wager.
The Empire 6, featuring a .20 cent minimum bet and 20% takeout, was added to the wagering menu that day and continued through the remainder of the 2019 meet. The wager requires the bettor to select the first-place finisher of the final six races of the card.
If one unique ticket exists, then 100% of the net pool, plus the jackpot carryover (if applicable), will be paid to the Winner.
If there is no unique wager selecting the first-place finisher in all six races, then 75% of the day’s net pool will be distributed to those who selected the first-place finisher in the greatest number of races, with the remainder being added into the jackpot and carried to the next day’s Empire 6 pool.
“The Empire 6 provides the potential for large payouts with small bets. That makes it attractive to the everyday horse-player,” said Tony Allevato, President of NYRA Bets.
The Daily Racing Blog is keenly aware of the Return On Investment opportunity the Empire 6 provides. It was Travers Day and the Empire 6 began in the 6th race and concluded with the Travers Stakes. All of the six contests were Graded Stakes races.
We did not go very deep in any of the six races; we chose only three horses in the 8th and 11th, two in the other four. Our total investment was $28.80.
When CODE OF HONOR made his late charge and Won the Travers, the non-unique (multiple Winners) .20 cent ticket was worth $3,990 ! There was much rejoicing.
The .20 cent Empire 6 is also a featured Wager at the Belmont Park autumn meet.
On Wednesday the Daily Racing Blog will go over some strategies on how to set up a potential Winning Pick 6 ticket without spending a small fortune.
