First, let me thank our investors: Me, Boy Genius, Absinthe, Falstaff, Gracie, April, Joanne, Imperfect, ToddCommish, FTrain, GRob, Otis, JoeSpeaker, AlCantHang, bobby (Run Em Twice), F%$^ the River, Jen, Lefty, Dad, 23skidoo, Iggy, Scurvydog, PokerWolf, Drizz, Meek, Bobby Bracelet, WillyWise, Royal and Donkeypuncher.
Second, let me warn you that we've done things a little differently this time. Instead of playing one big ticket that would cost almost $1300, we've played five separate tickets all centered around a solid base ticket that BG and I are both big fans of.
Without further ado, the picks:
The Boy Genius Ticket (so named because it's the smartest):
Race 5 (Filly and Mare Turf): #2 Ouija Board, #5 Honey Ryder, #7 Wait a While
Race 6 (Sprint): #6 Bordonaro, #11 Siren Lure
Race 7 (Turf Mile): #12 Gorella
Race 8 (Distaff): #2 Pine Island, #6 Spun Sugar, #7 Fleet Indian
Race 9 (Turf Classic): #7 Hurricane Run
Race 10 (Dirt Classic): #3 Bernardini, #11 Invasor
The Otis Ticket (so named because it's the most expensive, and Otis can afford it):
Race 5 (Filly and Mare Turf): #2 Ouija Board, #5 Honey Ryder, #7 Wait a While
Race 6 (Sprint): #4 Henny Hughes, #6 Bordonaro, #8 Pomeroy, #9 Too Much Bling, #11 Siren Lure
Race 7 (Turf Mile): #12 Gorella
Race 8 (Distaff): #2 Pine Island, #6 Spun Sugar, #7 Fleet Indian
Race 9 (Turf Classic): #4 Scorpion, #6 Cacique, #7 Hurricane Run
Race 10 (Dirt Classic): #3 Bernardini, #11 Invasor
The G-Rob Ticket (so named because we don't really like it):
Race 5 (Filly and Mare Turf): #2 Ouija Board, #5 Honey Ryder, #7 Wait a While
Race 6 (Sprint): #6 Bordonaro, #11 Siren Lure
Race 7 (Turf Mile): #3 Araafa, #12 Gorella, #14 Aussie Rules
Race 8 (Distaff): #2 Pine Island, #6 Spun Sugar, #7 Fleet Indian
Race 9 (Turf Classic): #7 Hurricane Run
Race 10 (Dirt Classic): #3 Bernardini, #11 Invasor
The AlCantHang Ticket (so named because I think we were drunk when we made it):
Race 5 (Filly and Mare Turf): #2 Ouija Board, #5 Honey Ryder, #7 Wait a While
Race 6 (Sprint): #6 Bordonaro, #11 Siren Lure
Race 7 (Turf Mile): #12 Gorella
Race 8 (Distaff): #2 Pine Island, #6 Spun Sugar, #7 Fleet Indian
Race 9 (Turf Classic): #7 Hurricane Run
Race 10 (Dirt Classic): #3 Bernardini, #7 David Junior, #11 Invasor, #13 Sun King
The Luckbox Ticket (so named because it's the longshot):
Race 5 (Filly and Mare Turf): #1 Dancing Edie, #2 Ouija Board, #4 Film Maker, #5 Honey Ryder, #7 Wait a While
Race 6 (Sprint): #6 Bordonaro, #11 Siren Lure
Race 7 (Turf Mile): #12 Gorella
Race 8 (Distaff): #2 Pine Island, #6 Spun Sugar, #7 Fleet Indian, #12 Asi Siempre, #13 Happy Ticket
Race 9 (Turf Classic): #7 Hurricane Run
Race 10 (Dirt Classic): #3 Bernardini, #9 Giacomo, #11 Invasor
That's 5 different tickets, but if the first one hits, that means we win 5 different ways. Of course, if the first one hits, it won't pay nearly as much as some of our other tickets should some longer shots come in.
For some perspective, no one won the Ultra Pick 6 last year or the year before. The year before that, one lucky person held a winning ticket worth $2.68 million. We're not likely to see that kind of payday today, but if we hit, we could be looking at as much as six figures.
BG will likely be live-blogging this over at his blog today, so check in there for live updates. We're probably about an hour away from the start of Race 5 which is scheduled to go off at 1:55pm ET. All of the races should be on ESPN if you want to watch. Wish us luck!