Churchill Downs: Racing week kicks off with Single 6 carryover

The Single 6 jackpot at Churchill Downs continues to grow with every racing day.

A bevy of bettors cashed winning tickets Sunday, which moved the carryover pool to $136,661 for Wednesday's card. The pool will continue to grow at a rapid rate, unless one bettor is able to construct the only winning ticket on a given day, at which point the full jackpot will be paid out.

Let’s check out Wednesday’s sequence and put together some preliminary handicapping thoughts.

Sunday recap

Short-priced runners were dominant on the final day of racing last week. Four favorites visited the winner’s circle (ranging in price from 3-10 to 14-5), while the two non-favored winners started at 21-10 and 19-5. Every winner closed at less than 4-1, and a theoretical $2 win parlay for the sequence would have returned just $132.72.

The Single 6, unsurprisingly, paid much better. On days when favorites take the spotlight, the 20-cent wager typically yields a higher return than a corresponding win parlay. Sunday was no exception, as winning bettors took home $413.76.

Wednesday insights

The Wednesday Single 6 kicks off in Race 4, a maiden special weight for fillies and mares. Originally slated to take place over 1 3/8 miles on turf, the race will instead be contested over 1 1/4 miles on dirt.

The surface switch figures to benefit #1 Beachwalker (8-1) and #10 Patriot’s War (6-1), who finished second and third in a 1 3/16-mile maiden event over the Keeneland main track last month. Both are bred to relish running long, and Beachwalker is picking up the services of jockey Ricardo Santana, a 21% winner at Churchill Downs. Pending scratches, they loom as a formidable duo to start the sequence.

Race 8, a 1-mile optional-claiming allowance for fillies and mares, will likewise be transferred from turf to dirt. This transition brings the “main track only” entrants, #10 Kim K (3-1), #11 Figure It Out (2-1), and #12 Singita Dreams (5-2) into the mix, and they look tough to beat. Not only are they the fastest runners on paper, but they’re all proven winners over the Churchill Downs main track.

Singita Dreams, in particular, warrants respect, after she crossed the wire first in back-to-back Churchill allowance races for hot trainer Philip Bauer.

Good luck!