The New York Racing Association is adding a Pick 6 with a twist this weekend, playing host to the inaugural two-day Breeders’ Cup Challenge Pick 6 that features six races from the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series.
All six races coming to bettors from Belmont Park and Santa Anita Park are Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In†races for their respective fields. Victories in these late Challenge Series events send their winners into the Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Del Mar on Nov. 5-6.
“Breeders’ Cup is always looking for new ways to engage with our fans across the country and the ‘Challenge Pick 6’ is a great way to provide them with an opportunity to win big surrounding some of the final Challenge Series races of the year,†Breeders’ Cup Senior Vice President of Marketing Justin McDonald said in a statement.
Two pluses for bettors are the 15% takeout and the mandatory payout of the net pool. The Breeders’ Cup Challenge Pick 6 comes with a minimum $1 bet and is available on all ADW platforms.
Breeders’ Cup Challenge Pick 6 opens with Champagne
The inaugural wager begins Saturday with the Grade 1 Champagne Stakes at Belmont Park, which sends its 2-year-olds a mile in the quest for a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. That race usually defines who the Champion 2-Year-Old will be, come Eclipse Award time.
From there, the wager swings three time zones west for three events at Santa Anita. The first is the Grade 1 Awesome Again for 3-year-olds and up. Expect to see Kentucky Derby champion Medina Spirit among those going 1 1/8 miles for a berth in the flagship Breeders’ Cup Classic. Along with that comes the Grade 1 Rodeo Drive, a 1 ¼-mile turf test for fillies and mares offering a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf.
Saturday’s action wraps up with the Grade 2 Santa Anita Sprint Championship, which sends its 3-year-olds and up six furlongs for a berth in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint.
Miss this Pick 6, there’s another one behind it
Solve those four races and proceed to Sunday’s duo, one from each track. The first is the Grade 1 Frizette at Belmont Park, a one-turn mile for 2-year-old fillies delivering the winner a berth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.
The Breeders’ Cup Challenge Pick 6 wraps up back at Santa Anita with the Grade 2 Zenyatta. That 1 1/16-mile dirt route for fillies and mares 3-and-up offers a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff to its winner.
NYRA officials said it plans another Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series Pick 6 the following weekend, featuring yet-to-be-determined races from Belmont Park and Keeneland.