<P> A pick 6 is a type of wager offered by horse racing tracks . It requires bettors to select the winners of six consecutive races . Because of the great difficulty in picking six straight winners, plus the number of betting interests involved, payoffs for successful wagers are quite high, sometimes in the millions of dollars . </P> <P> The pick 6 has its roots in the daily double, the first so - called "exotic" wager offered by horse tracks . To win the daily double, a bettor must pick the winner of two consecutive races, traditionally the first two and the last two races of the program . The pick 6 merely extends this principle . The wager is offered once per program, and is usually offered on six races which conclude with the featured race of the day . </P> <P> The wager is conducted in parimutuel fashion, with all pick 6 bets going into a separate pool from other kinds of betting . There is one "betting interest" for each available combination, and the number of combinations is equal to the product of the number of runners in all six races . A simplified example: If there are ten horses in each of the six races, then the number of combinations is 10 × 10 × 10 × 10 × 10 × 10, or 1,000,000 . </P> <P> The pick 6 wager actually has two payoffs, one for bettors who pick all six winners, and a smaller payoff for those who pick five out of six . The total pick 6 betting pool is divided by percentage between the two payouts, along the lines of 75% for the six - winner pool and 25% for the five - winner pool . </P>

How does the pick 6 work in horse racing