Churchill Downs: Racing week wraps up with $162,270 Single 6 carryover

The penultimate week of racing at the Churchill Downs fall meet wraps up on Sunday with a $162,270 Single 6 jackpot on the table.

The carryover pool has been steadily accumulating while bettors have vied (unsuccessfully so far) to construct the only winning ticket for a given day. Should the jackpot go unclaimed through Nov. 29—closing day of the meet—then a mandatory payout among all winning bettors will be in the offing.

In the meantime, the Single 6 continues to produce appealing payoffs on a day-to-day basis, making it well worth playing even without a mandatory dispersal on the line.

Saturday recap

If anyone needed a reminder of how one upset winner can trigger a big payoff in the Single 6, Saturday provided a great example. For the most part, the results were straightforward—three favorites, a second choice, and a third choice all prevailed at odds of 5-1 or less.

But the sequence took a twist in the third leg, when a 10-1 shot beat the two favorites in a three-horse photo finish. This lone upset was sufficient to trigger a $0.20-cent Single 6 payoff of $6,791.58, nearly three times higher than the $2,350.63 generated by a theoretical $2 win parlay.

Sunday insights

The Sunday sequence kicks off in Race 4, a competitive 1 1/16-mile allowance race for 2-year-olds. Only half a dozen horses have been entered, but splitting them is tricky since three of the favorites—decisive maiden winners #1 Joe Frazier (3-1), #4 Angkor (5-2), and #5 Starrininmydreams (5-2)—have never run farther than 6 1/2 furlongs.

Bourbon (G2) sixth-place finisher #2 Private Island (2-1) is an appealing alternative, considering he’s already contested a trio of two-turn races. Granted, he’s done his best running on turf, but he’s knocked heads with some quality runners, most notably beating future stakes winner Catman in a maiden race at Kentucky Downs. Plus, Private Island wasn’t disgraced in his debut sprinting on dirt, rallying late to finish fourth behind future two-time Grade 1 winner Jackie’s Warrior and the Grade 2-place Therideofalifetime.

The feature race of the afternoon is Race 8, a 5-furlong allowance dash. The stakes-caliber field is absolutely packed with speed, so there might be some appeal to favoring a runner like David M. Vance S. runner-up #6 Seven Nation Army (7-2), who has shown the tractability to rate off the lead and still produce a rally.

Wrapping up the Single 6 sequence is Race 9, a $40,000 maiden claiming race for 2-year-old fillies. The 6 1/2-furlong sprint lacks a clear standout, but #7 Milana (7-2) looks capable of improving for high-percentage trainer Brad Cox. She ran an odd race in her debut dashing 6 furlongs at Churchill Downs, dropping back to trail the field around the turn before re-rallying to finish seventh of eleven. Cox strikes at a 27% rate with second-time starters and will equip Milana with blinkers on Sunday, setting the stage for a more focused performance.

Good luck!