Churchill Downs Single 6 Jackpot: The filly to single Saturday

The Single 6 Jackpot went unclaimed Friday at Churchill Downs, leaving a huge carryover pool of $327,613 to be dispersed Saturday.

On days like these, when a mandatory dispersal of a jackpot pool is on the agenda, it’s wise for bettors to shift their strategy a bit. It’s no longer necessary to scour the card for potential longshots winners in hopes of holding the lone winning ticket—in order to earn a share of this jackpot pool, you just have to hold a winning ticket, period.

As a result, if you can find a horse to single—even at a short price—you’ll be able to invest more of your budget in trickier races on the card and increase you chance of surviving an unpredictable outcome.

After going through Saturday’s Single 6 races, I’m confident #7 Magic Dance in the $125,000 Debutante Stakes (Race 10) is by far the most likely winner in the sequence and a filly you can single on your tickets.

As I outlined in my spot plays for the Saturday stakes races at Churchill Downs, Magic Dance was an impressive debut winner at Churchill three weeks ago, when she tracked a quick pace in a five-furlong maiden sprint, then seized command in the homestretch and pulled clear to win by 4 3/4 lengths. Magic Dance was completely professional, won with ease over the heavy favorite Josie and ran fast on the speed figure scales (84 Beyer and 91 Brisnet).

Magic Dance’s easy victory was reinforced Thursday, when Josie came back to break her maiden by 2 3/4 lengths at Churchill. In terms of connections Magic Dance has plenty to offer. A Three Chimneys Farm homebred daughter of More Than Ready, Magic Dance is conditioned by the Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen and will be ridden by Ricardo Santana Jr., who has teamed up to win four grade 1 races with Asmussen over the last two months.

Although Magic Dance will surely be included on the majority of Single 6 tickets, there might still be some value to singling her in this competitive sequence. Since the Debutante is packed with lightly raced 2-year-olds, some bettors may feel inclined to spread deep in hopes of catching a longshot.

If this strategy proves successful, those bettors will deserve applause, because they’ll be well on their way to cashing a nice ticket. But if Magic Dance prevails as expected, all those combinations featuring longshots will be dead, and players who singled Magic Dance will smile with the knowledge they didn’t waste a single dollar betting against a deserving favorite.

Good luck with your plays!