US Racing / Simon Rowlands / 08 June 2010 /

After upsets galore at Belmont on Saturday, the Pick Six pot could swell to around three million dollars. That means Wednesday's card at the New York track is likely to be a thriller. Simon Rowlands explains how you can grab a slice of the action...

You might think that, with 45,000 people at the track and millions watching around the globe, the Belmont Stakes day "Pick Six" (in which punters have to pick the winners of six selected races) would have been won by somebody. But a number of shock results, not least by Drosselmeyer in the big race, meant that did not happen.

As a result, there is a carryover of nearly $1m to Wednesday's card at Belmont, with forecasts that the Pick Six pool could reach $3m. Betfair customers can have a slice of the action by betting into the US pools through the green "tote" button on the top left of the US race markets.

It's so simple that even I have managed to master it. Remember, all bets need to have been placed before the off of race four at Belmont on Wednesday: that's 14:36 local time, 19:36 GMT.

Unfortunately, picking six winners and scooping the pot promises to be considerably more difficult than placing the bet!

Race Four Belmont (leg one): Two horses stand out on Timeform ratings, number one Montana Knight and number four Macho Joe. The former takes what some might consider to be a suspicious class drop - from a $65k maiden claimer to a $25k maiden claimer - and is also down in distance, though the latter could work to his advantage. Macho Joe would challenge him on his second two starts back and is taken as insurance. Number six Scorper has a shout at his best, but only if you go back more than a year.

Race Five Belmont (leg two): An open-looking fillies/mares allowance of not very high grade. Number six Vicarious has just about the best form but dipped below it the last twice, including behind number seven Under The Rainbow when the pair were third and fourth (the consistent number four Every Little Thing was fifth) at course and distance. The others look not quite good enough.

Race Six Belmont (leg three): No-one said doing the Pick Six should be easy, and this race, a 14-runner $35k maiden claimer, is certainly not easy. The Morning Line favourites, number six Ponte Vecchio and number 10 Hooligan's Delight, are definite contenders but may be overbet. I prefer to side with number seven Thundering Roar and number nine Showme Zealous. Both are down in trip, which promises to suit the latter in particular, and have the form to win this if you go back a couple of starts.

Race Seven Belmont (leg four): Another race for maidens, some of whom may be averse to winning, suggests whoever chose these races for inclusion in the Pick Six has a sense of humour. Do we include number seven John Wyatt, who went close in a higher grade two starts ago but may be becoming disappointing? On balance, I think not and will be siding with number four Tapitdar (return to a mile should help) and the consistent if luckless number six Adirondack Warrior.

Race Eight Belmont (leg five): Just five runners: a result! And number two West Coast Flier is a solid and in-form proposition, likely to get to the front without being unduly hassled. This looks the race to "single" (take just one selection), and just hope that neither number one Starforaday nor number four Law Enforcement return to their best after breaks.

Race Nine Belmont (final leg): Number 12 Aquit has a clear chance in this $25k claimer on her form at a higher grade on dirt. The one to put with her is number one Pea Stone, who is proven under the conditions and who has not had things her way of late. The rest of them make limited appeal, but if you manage to get this far in the Pick Six there is always the opportunity to insure your position on Betfair.

Good luck!

Selections:

Race 1: 1 and 4
Race 2: 6 and 7
Race 3: 7 and 9
Race 4: 4 and 6
Race 5: 2
Race 6: 1 and 12
2x2x2x2x1x2 = 32 bets @ $2 = $64

Click here to place your Pick Six bets

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