Rainbow Pick 6

[aaron]

Just curious,what are your thoughts on the Rainbow Pick 6. I don't mean as a good or bad bet,but as a handle generator for the major tracks. It seems to me,this would generate much more handle on a daily basis than a normal Pick 6.
Your thoughts ?

[DeltaLover]

Just curious,what are your thoughts on the Rainbow Pick 6. I don't mean as a good or bad bet,but as a handle generator for the major tracks. It seems to me,this would generate much more handle on a daily basis than a normal Pick 6.
Your thoughts ?

Who cares about the handle generator for the major tracks? Certainly not the horse bettor which consist the audience you are referring to by posting on this forum...

I consider Rainbow Pick 6, to be the top of the iceberg, when it comes to bet types that destroy the game and (if you really care about) destroy the handle, when seen from a long term perspective.

Lotto-like gimmicks, is not the way to promote the game and they hurt both the bettor and the industry, still the problem is that the latter do no seem to realize it and continuously, seems to seeks its 'salvation' (to borrow the term from our religion thread) to the introduction and promotion of them!

[tanner12oz]

It caters to a certain player. Personally I think its dumb but that's just me. I'd rather have $1 minimums on all bets vs the change from the couch minimums of today

[no breathalyzer]

i really don't see a problem with this bet as it offers tremendous value once the carry over starts rolling, (which is the only time you should be playing it). More handle is never bad for the game as well.

[DeltaLover]

i really don't see a problem with this bet as it offers tremendous value once the carry over starts rolling, (which is the only time you should be playing it). More handle is never bad for the game as well.

This is bet quickly deprives the betting capital which is not only heavily taxed by the take out, but also eventually creates monster payouts which are very possible to be reinvested on other things rather than the horse betting ecosystem.

[ultracapper]

Product of the lotto generation. Who knows, your odds of hitting something like this and getting you out of the game as a lifetime winner may be better than trying to grind out a profit month after month for years.

[Poindexter]

While I certainly am not disputing any of DL points(in theory I am in complete agreement), I think there are some postitives with this wager. Now I want to start off by saying I hate the deceptive nature of the bet. The bet is promoted as an opportunity to be able to win a huge jackpot if you are the only ticket with 6, but often there will not be enough entrants or depth in fields to make this jackpot even possible. Then it becomes a 20 cent pick 6 with an enormous takeout. Now what makes this bet interesting especially as the carryover grows is that it attracts a strange distribution of bets. You have those shooting for the carry over that might single 2 10-1 shots and with the exception of very rare days they are just donating money into the pool. I am sure you have a wide use of the all box which means horses with virtually no chance are being bet on. I am sure there are all kinds of crazy ways people are deciding how to bet into this pool that have little to do with wise handicapping and betting strategy. So while the takeout is enormous a lot of the money is "dumb money" or skewed(towards very long longshots) money, so in many instances this will overcome the extra takeout. When comparing pick 3 parlays over the 6 races with the rainbow six payoffs it is not unusual to see much better payoffs on the rainbow six. What I find positive about the bet is carry over aside for a reasonable investment you have a chance for a pretty nice score. Single 2 horses you like, go 5x5x5x5 in the other 4 races and for $125, you get home your 2 singles and you have a very good chance of hitting a pick 6(if you happen to hit a 15 or 20-1 as one of your spreads and you are looking at a chance for some nice money). The big carryovers assure big pools and a lot of dumb money which is very player friendly. In fact the very fact that most serious players consider it a sucker bet assures that the betting in this pool is not sharp at all. But back to the original topic, I think the bet is interesting because it gives your everyday player a reasonable(due to the 20cent vs $2 denomination) chance at a pretty nice payday. As far as handle generation, it depends. I think for the most part most serious players are not handicapping 6 races to play a rainbow 6, since it is considered by most a sucker bet. That is ultimately what would make it effective in generating handle. I think the Jackpot portion is interesting but unless you modify it to attract serious players (something like a 25 % takeout with 10% being contributed to the jackpot pool each day), it will probably never be a big boost to racing. But what do Gulfstreams Handle numbers indicate? Any increase year to year in handle/attendance?

[FlintAtTheFetlock]

Just curious,what are your thoughts on the Rainbow Pick 6. I don't mean as a good or bad bet,but as a handle generator for the major tracks. It seems to me,this would generate much more handle on a daily basis than a normal Pick 6.
Your thoughts ?

I was somewhat down on this gimmicky wager watching it grow to ridiculous proportions making it near impossible to hit on a single ticket. But I tried it out for the first time this year when the pool was around 160k and maybe beginners luck but after a few tries I hit it. I was shocked to see it paid $19,406.00 with 4 favorites, a 9-1 shot, and a 19-1 shot. I had two other low odds horses in the last leg and those were paying $3000-$5000. The ticket only cost $28.50. Those are really good payouts. I've come close a couple more times since, including what I am calling a 6-6 last week with DQ in last (drifted), and a freakish bolt and fall of jock just steps from finish line with clear lead in the opening leg.

So I will continue to enjoy this wager before the carryover gets too crazy and draws in the heavy hitters. Heck, if I can do it others here certainly have an opportunity to make some nice scores.

[aaron]

I haven' played it,but I can't understand why more tracks don't have it.The major tracks all say they are trying to grow their handle.The Rainbow seems like the perfect vehicle to do this. On a average day doesn't the handle exceed the normal pick 6?
In NY,I think the pick 4's and pick 5 exceed the pick 6,except on big carryover days.