New wagers are being thought up every year.

The Choose Six came and went quickly enough (at least at The Meadowlands), while the Grand Slam has held it’s own on the NYRA circuit.

Today's typical wagering format not only includes the basics - Win, Place, Show, Exacta, Trifecta and Superfecta - but also more dynamic wagering opportunities like the Pick-3, Pick-4 and Pick-6.

These multiple race wagers can be a quick way to empty your pockets, but played properly and selectively, they can be your best friend.

There are two ways to play the "picks." We will call the first one selective wagering and the second (for lack of a better name) "the JC way."

Selective wagering is just as it implies, picking your spots with a limited bankroll.

You will not be playing every Pick-3, but on a rolling Pick-3 card, you should be able to make about three plays. As far as the Pick-4 goes, one or two tries a week is the norm, and the Pick-6 can be played about once a month.

The JC Way is named after a track regular that I would hang out with from time to time.

He liked action and wanted to cover all the bases; not only cover the bases but put a tarp over them. His tickets looked like a complex math problem. This method of playing requires primarily one thing - a large bankroll.

You can certainly make the case that a combination of the two methods would be the ideal way to play the Picks, but we will go under the assumption that most of us are not rich enough to play with more numbers than the national debt.

Now that we have decided that selective wagering is the way to go, let's take a look at each Pick and narrow the strategies involved in profiting from them.

For the purposes of this column we will assume that the track you are wagering on offers a rolling Pick-3, one Pick-4, and one Pick-6 on every card.

The Pick-3 can be a high-reward, low-risk wager. How can an exotic bet be a low-risk wager? Simple, you can play it for a small amount and win plenty of money.

Unlike the Pick-4 and Pick-6, the Pick-3 can legitimately be hit for as little as $4 on a consistent basis. The key is finding the horses on the card that you feel are your best bets and singling them on your tickets.

Do not be afraid to single a horse.

Do not be suckered into throwing a horse in with your single on the outside chance that he could win.

Any serious handicapper should be able to find a few horses on the card that stick out as solid plays. If even one of these horses comes through you are a third of the way home in an effort to catch a nice payoff. If these key plays lose, you should lose - it's that simple.

Now that we have our singles ready, we need to figure out which races we want to use with them.

If the single is projected to be a longshot in a wide open race, you should use that horse in the first or second leg of your Pick-3.

Racegoers have a bad habit of pressing the "all" button in the last leg of their multiple race wagers if the leg is wide-open to ensure that they will cash.

If you use your longshot in the last leg you will likely have to share your profit with others that went fishing in the final leg with an "all" bet. If the key horse is a favorite it really does not matter which leg you choose to key him, though I prefer the first leg.

When looking for the other legs of your wager it is a good idea to use races in which the favorite appears vulnerable, and you can narrow the other contenders down to a few horses.

Ideally, the final ticket should include a key horse, two or three horses in the next leg, and two to five horses in the last leg. The total price for the wager with this formula will range from $4 to $15. If you are unable to keep the wager down to these parameters, you are probably better off betting your horse to win rather than trying to over think your way into an oversized Pick-3 wager.

From time to time I do recommend pressing the "all" button.

When you are able to key one horse, have another leg down to no more then two horses, and find a wide open field or a vulnerable favorite, the situation appears ripe for a possible "all" play.

As I mentioned earlier, many "all" plays occur in the last leg. Always try to make your use of the "all" button in the first or second legs.

The Pick-4 requires more homework and selectivity then its little brother.

The homework comes into play in the form of the need to study each and every leg of the Pick-4 on every card.

It is important that you study each race intently because you don't want to make an investment that fails due to an oversight. Examining the wager each day will give you more opportunity to play.

Each race included in the wager should be dissected on many levels.

First you should eliminate all horses that have no chance to win. If after this step you are left with five or more horses in three or more legs, you should immediately pass on the wager for that day.

Next, ask yourself the following question: Does one of the races have a standout horse or two? If the answer is no, the bet is a no go.

We now have a Pick-4 in which one leg is down to two horses or less and the other three have less then five.

Go back and study the three races which were only slightly narrowed down. Are there any horses that have a chance if everything goes right but are unlikely to get the dream trip? Eliminate them.

We are trying to reach a goal of 2 x 3 x 3 x 5 or less. You should not have to go deeper then a $90 play for $1.

If you feel that your funds are plentiful and would like to spend more on the wager, then you have two choices. Re-insert the horses that did not make your final cut or try to narrow the bet down even further and play a smaller ticket in addition to the main wager.

I strongly suggest that you keep the wager under $100. A wager of more then this amount is a sign that you do not have a firm enough opinion on the races.

There are only two times that I would recommend betting more then $100:

(1) If you were going to play every possible horse that had a slight chance of winning. On most nights that would cost at least $300 for each play. If you can afford that, then you probably have enough money to ignore advice.

(2) There is a carryover in the pool from a previous night.

You've conquered the Pick-3, made a killing with the Pick-4, and now you want to step up to a new level. Welcome to the Pick-6.

The Pick-6 is not for the faint of heart. It requires the patience of a saint and a strong bankroll. You will lose countless more times than you will win. In fact, you might only hit one or two times a year.

Start off by following the pattern of the Pick-4 - eliminate the horses that have no chance.

You must be able to narrow down at least one race to a key horse or the bet is unplayable. Ideally it is best to have two singles on your ticket.

After that it becomes an individual matter. The Pick-6 is a wager for players with a bigger bankroll.

If you can afford it, a play in the hundreds of dollars is very logical because the payoff will back it up. For the smaller bettor I would suggest waiting patiently for that one Pick-6 in which you can single three horses. This will allow you to make the wager into a Pick-3, and thus, make it more affordable.

There is an exception to the wagering suggestions I have laid out in this column.

From time to time a track will offer a special guaranteed pool in order to lure players to the track and to wager on the bet. In harness racing these guarantees are often some of the best value plays available, because on certain occasions the pools fail to reach the guaranteed levels.

Keep your eyes out for these gifts. It is not often that you can get something for nothing.

Chester Returns

Harrah's Chester, located in Pennsylvania, reopens this Sunday, April 20 for an exciting season of racing.

The five-eighths mile oval will host six events worth over $250,000 this season, including the $500,000 Ben Franklin for free-for-all pacers and the $500,000 Battle of Brandywine, a 3-year-old open pacing event.

The slot enhanced condition sheet offers purses which are second to none.

With the higher purses come better horses and the top drivers. Brian Sears, Tim Tetrick, George Brennan and many of the other top pilots are scheduled to be on hand at Chester.

The only negative associated with the track is that it is still in the process of building a strong pari-mutuel following (a reasonable flaw considering it is a fairly new facility). This task would be easier if one of the top wagering locations in the country – NYC OTB – would see the light and hop onboard.

If you haven't checked out the action from Chester, do yourself a favor and tune in this Sunday at 12:25 PM.

Until next time, good luck…we all need it.

If you have any comments or questions, feel free to contact me at Imcallin@aol.com.

Derick Giwner

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