Knicks Go keyed a $4400 payout on the late pick four at Del Mar in the 2021 Breeders’ Cup
Danny Brewer
For the second consecutive year, Del Mar will play host to the Breeders’ Cup. The competition at these World Thoroughbred Championships is always top notch, which makes for lots of excitement and some handsome potential payouts. The Seaside Oval has been known as a place that produces upset opportunities. Combine a track that plays fair on both turf and dirt and the deeply talented fields of the Breeders’ Cup and you get a star-studded match made in heaven.
The big question when we think about Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball getting together is how does this power couple put money back in the bettor’s pocket? The best way to pull a John Dillinger and rob the bank is perhaps the late pick four. Because we all want that low risk high yield return on our investment, the 50-cent late pick four has proven to be a lucrative target where the turf meets the surf.
The Breeders’ Cup has been contested at Del Mar on three different occasions. In 2017, Gun Runner closed out the late pick four with a win in the Classic and keyed a $1257 return. Knicks Go strutted his stuff in the 2021 Classic and capped off a $4403 payout on the late pick four. A shuffling of the schedule in 2024 saw Full Serrano close the card in the Dirt Mile with an upset win producing a $5303 return on a winning ticket. That means the average return on the 50-cent late pick four in the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar is $3654.
The pathway to a nice payout at the 2025 Breeder’s could be a late pick four ticket at Del Mar
Danny Brewer
This year’s lineup of races will feature the Breeders’ Cup Classic as the opening leg of the late pick four. It will be followed by the Mile on turf, the Dirt Mile, and the Filly and Mare Turf. Because this year’s Cup is overflowing with balance, the 2025 late pick four has a real chance to be the largest yet at Del Mar.
What will be the best strategy to cashing a colossal ticket? Well, of course it is select the winner in each of these four races…but seriously, the Pretty Boy Floyd method where you make out like a bandit is finding a single in one of the races. That means you select multiple horses in three legs but only a single horse in one of the four. Here is an example, if you select four horses in each of the four races, 50 cents on every combination makes it a $128 ticket. Obviously trading a $128 for even the lowest of the previous late pick four payouts ($1257) would be nice. But if you find a single in one of those races and pick four in the others it is just a $32 play and then a score makes for a Jessee James type scenario.
Is finding a single a flawed strategy at an event as balanced as the Breeders’ Cup? It certainly is much tougher as the enormous amount of talent makes it difficult. There is a single in every race, you just have to guess right. The fantastic odds on good horses and the size of the betting pools makes for large payouts. In 2024 at Del Mar, the all sources betting handle for the two days of racing at the Cup was $179,123,036. The late pick four pool was $1,943,042. That means lots of people speculate on these world championships and as has been established, that late pick four has a strong history at old Del Mar. The name of the game is back a horse and get paid.
The late pick four on November 1 will begin with race 9, the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic, at approximately 5:25 central time. It concludes with race 12, the $2 million Filly and mare Turf at approximately 7:25 central time.
