Jackpot carryovers on the line at Aqueduct, Fair Grounds

Heading into another busy weekend of racing, there are several carryover pools on the horizon to entice optimistic bettors in search of a life-changing payoff.

What is a carryover pool? In pari-mutuel horse racing, a carryover pool is generated when bettors on any given day fail to cash a winning ticket on a particular type of wager. Let’s say everyone plays the Pick 6 on a Thursday, but no one comes up with the winning combination. The money spent on those losing tickets is then “carried over” and pooled with Friday’s wagers, which provides an even bigger pot for bettors to chase.

These days most carryovers are generated by special “jackpot” wagers, which slowly accumulate huge carryovers over the course of weeks or months.

Want to take a shot at one or two of the jackpots this week? Here are two to consider.

Aqueduct Pick 6

The “Empire 6” is a jackpot-style Pick 6 wager with a 20-cent minimum bet amount, offered every day on the last six races at Aqueduct. On days when multiple bettors hit the winning sequence, 75% of the day’s net pool is split among the winning ticketholders, while the remaining 25% is placed in the carryover jackpot pool. Should the day come when only one lucky bettor holds a winning ticket, that bettor will be rewarded with 100% of the day’s net pool, plus the jackpot carryover pool.

Heading into the Thursday card at Aqueduct, the Empire 6 jackpot stands at $329,024. While sweeping the jackpot is unlikely (small fields at Aqueduct make it difficult to structure unique winning tickets), a mandatory dispersal of the jackpot pool is scheduled for Sunday. Be sure to play along—if you successfully select all five winners, a piece of the jackpot will be yours!

Fair Grounds Pick 5

The “Black Gold 5” follows the same general jackpot formula as the Empire 6. The It offers a big payday to any bettor who cashes the lone winning ticket. The Black Gold 5 covers the last five races every afternoon at Fair Grounds, and the minimum ticket cost is 50 cents.

Since 50% of the pool each day is placed in the carryover pool, the Black Gold 5 jackpot can grow rapidly. The carryover pool stands at $13,316 for the Thursday card, but assuming no unique winning tickets are purchased during the next two days, the jackpot should exceed $20,000 by Saturday.

If chasing a major weekend prize sounds appealing to you, check out our preview of Saturday’s Shantel Lanerie Memorial at Fair Grounds, which serves as the second leg of the Black Gold 5.

Good luck!