As if breaking down an intriguing Kentucky Derby didn’t require enough handicapping firepower, Churchill Downs unveiled its wagering menu for Derby weekend.
Headlining Derby weekend is a mandatory payout in the Derby City 6. That jackpot-style Pick 6 requires a bettor to hold the only winning combination of the six designated races. Carrying a low 15% takeout, the Derby City Pick 6 pays 90% of the pool to multiple horseplayers nailing the six races.
Should multiple players hit the six races, 10% carries over to the next day. The entire pool carries over if nobody picks six winners.
The popular Oaks/Derby Pick 6 returns, putting the spotlight on the stacked stakes schedule for Oaks Friday and Derby Saturday. Your $2 minimum bet requires you to hit six stakes races spread out over Friday and Saturday’s races. Friday’s races are the Grade 1 La Troienne and the featured Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks.
Four Grade 1s on Derby Saturday wagering menu
Saturday’s Oaks/Derby Pick 6 races are the Grade 1 Derby City Distaff, the Grade 1 Churchill Downs, the Grade 1 Turf Classic and the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby.
Should you want to tackle fewer races, Churchill Downs’ wagering menu offers four Pick 5 and four Pick 4 wagers. The third Pick 5 and third Pick 4 in the sequence offer an all-stakes slate ending with the Kentucky Derby.
The tricky, yet often-lucrative, superfectas carry $1 minimums for Oaks and Derby days. They revert to the 10-cent minimum for the rest of Churchill Downs’ 38-day spring meet.
Churchill Downs’ spring meet opened this weekend. Friday and Saturday’s cards present six Grade 1s, capped by the Oaks on Friday and the Derby on Saturday.