Rainbow Six Jackpot Pool

Around the Crone household about the only thing that causes more conversation and arguing than college basketball is our first great love...horse racing.

In the past we have focused this blog on mostly our NCAA Tournament Pools, which ballooned to 119 entries this year and has certainly become the most popular NCAA Tournament Pool in existence (well...maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration...). However, horse racing is where our passion lies, and this weekend is offering a chance for us to make an even bigger pool than the one we have in March...

This Memorial Day Monday is set to play host to the biggest horse racing jackpot pool ever. Gulfstream Park's Rainbow 6 is expected to have between $15 to $20 MILLION dollars that will be paid out to people who correctly pick six straight winners.

A little background for those not versed in horse racing wagering...

The Rainbow 6 is a jackpot wager that has existed for the last couple of years. It is a 20 cent base wager. So, if you pick one horse in each of the six races the wager only costs 20 cents. However, most people play multiple horses in each race, making it 20 cents per combination. As a simple illustration let's say your ticket looks like this:

   Race 1    Race 2    Race 3    Race 4    Race 5    Race 6
     1,2           1,2         1,2,3         1           1,2,3      1,2,3,4

Here you would have 144 combinations (2x2x3x1x3x4) which would cost $28.80.

What differentiates the Rainbow 6 from most wagers is that THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE WINNER (except on mandatory payout days...I'm getting to that...). Since there can only be one winner the pool has grown to over $6 Million dollars over the past few months. Daily winners have collected thousands, and sometimes tens of thousands, of dollars, but this isn't a normal bet type, this is The Highlander, and there can be only one.

HOWEVER, Monday has been decreed as a mandatory payout day, which, in a nutshell, means all of
the winners will split up one of the biggest prize pools in horse racing history. The total pool is expected to balloon to somewhere between $15 and $20 MILLION dollars to be divvied up between winning bettors.

So, what does all of this mean, and why should you care?

Fair questions savvy reader, fair questions indeed. What you may or may not know about me (David Crone), is that I happen to be somewhat of an expert in the field of wagering on horses. Just ask my Alma mater's magazine if you need PROOF (page 11), or check out this janky link to a Courier Journal article about me and Philip HERE. Further, my brother, father, and some of our cohorts are also among the top handicappers in the country. We've won major handicapping contests, been featured in newspaper articles (one cited above), and have extensive backgrounds related to figuring out which horse will get from point A to point B the fastest. Since this is such a unique opportunity and such a huge pool we are putting together a wagering syndicate to build a big bankroll and take a shot at taking down a huge score.

How this works:

We have about $1,500 to start with as seed money. We will add to that any funds which you, or your friends/family/enemies/frenemies/framily/and or pets would like to throw into the bankroll. You will then be given a percentage share equal to the money that you invest. So, if you put up $30 and we end up with $3,000 you will have a 1% stake. If we win and it pays $40,000, your $30 would turn into $400 (minus taxes, which I would pay, it would not be taxed for you, but it would be taxed on my end, so I will have to hold out the money to cover that).

On Sunday night/Monday morning we will see where our bankroll stands and put together a series of Rainbow Six tickets. We will then let everyone know what tickets we have bet, and what combinations we have covered. You will be able to watch these races through a variety of television/online channels (if you need that info we will provide it).

Hopefully, by Monday evening we will be reaping wonderful rewards and spreading out some cash, love, and positive vibes between all who took part. The total payout will end up being based on the odds of the winning horses throughout the six races. On the low end it will probably pay $5-$10 thousand. But, there exists the possibility of a six figure payout on a day like this.

Let me know what questions you have, what I didn't cover well enough, and if you want to take part! Should be a lot of fun...hope you join in!