Back in 2006, I luckboxed my way into a pretty big pay day in the Belmont. I keyed in on Jazil and managed to hit the win, the exacta, the trifecta and the superfecta for a $1250 payout. I haven't yet been able to repeat that success.

Jazil is the reason I like Casino Drive. You see, they're half-brothers. Better Than Honor is the dam ("mom") of Jazil and Casino Drive, as well as Rags to Riches, the filly who shocked the Belmont field in 2007. If you're keeping track, that's the 2006 Belmont and the 2007 Belmont.

Better Than Honor was sired by Deputy Minister (her "dad") who has sired 80 different graded stakes winners. Deputy Minister is also the damsire ("granddad") of Bob and John and Curlin... perhaps you remember them.

Casino Drive was sired by Mineshaft, the 2003 U.S. Horse of the year. Mineshaft's blood line runs back through his sire A.P. Indy and his grandsire Seattle Slew.

Long story short (too late), Casino Drive has the blood line. He's very lightly raced, however, winning his only start in February at the Kyoto in Japan. He won by 11 1/2 lengths.

Casino Drive will make his American debut tomorrow at Belmont in the Peter Pan Stakes. He drew the rail (not my favorite, but not terrible) in the 9 horse field and will be ridden by legendary jockey Kent Desormeaux (who, you may remember, just won the Kentucky Derby aboard Big Brown). Casino Drive is the current morning line favorite at 2/1 (coupled with his stablemate), so it's not like he's some well-kept secret.

Regardless of how he does tomorrow (not all horses do well the first race after being shipped), Casino Drive will run in the Belmont Stakes in a month. And if Big Brown has already wrapped up the first two legs of the Triple Crown, Casino Drive could get a great price and be just the kind of horse to pull an upset.

Update: Casino Drive won the Peter Pan Stakes by 5 3/4 lengths, and that was despite getting out of the gate slowly. He went off at 6/5 stakes, so my $20 win bet only paid me $45. But, I also wheeled him on top of a $5 exacta with the rest of the field and an 18/1 longshot placed. That bet paid $166.25. Not a bad day at the virtual track.

1. It started with a text message this morning from BG:

"$21 to win on BOB BLACK JACK, $10 to win on MONBA"

With a brother named Bob, and the obvious gambling reference, BG would be crazy NOT to bet on Bob Black Jack. That's where his heart is. That means his head must be with Monba. (Full disclosure: This is only a guess at BG's motive for that pick, especially since on Friday, BG told me he wasn't actually going to handicap the card.)

2. I read off the names of all 20 horses to Lady Luck, and she selected Monba.

3. Armed with this knowledge, I did a little handicapping of the field. Here's what I figured out:

Colonel John should go off as the favorite and has a great shot at winning this race. Coming out of the 10th post, he's in much better shape than Big Brown. And in the Santa Anita Derby one month ago, he showed the 1 1/4m distance likely won't faze him. That said, I won't bet the favorite in a 20-horse Derby field.

Big Brown should go off as the second favorite. He also has a shot at winning this race, but coming out of the 20th post will be more than he can overcome. He'll expend a lot of energy to get himself closer to the rail and the four horses inside of him are too good to allow him that room. This is the best horse in the field, but he won't win.

Pyro should go off as the third favorite. It wouldn't shock me to see him win. He'll leave the gate just inside of Colonel John. The Blue Grass Stakes was a disaster for Pyro (he finished 10th) but I think the Louisiana Derby is probably a better indication of what he may bring on this day. However, he won't win.

A half-dozen other horses will be real contenders: Wood Memorial-winner Tale of Ekati, Florida Deby-runner up Smooth Air, Santa Anita Derby-runner up Bob Black Jack (who should be the early speed), Blue Grass Stakes-runner up Cowboy Cal, Illinois Derby-winner Recapturetheglory, and Arkansas Derby-winner Gayego (beware of injury whispers on this horse).

All those horses are certainly capable making this a very difficult field to break down. It doesn't take much skill, however, to list 10 horses that could win a race. What you want is the winner. And that winner will be Monba.

I anticipate Monba getting out good from the 14th post, following Bob Black Jack who may be the early leader. Look for Monba to settle in a few off the rail by the first turn. He'll be in trouble if he lets those big horses outside of him get a jump on him, but I think he'll be fine.

By the stretch, Pyro will be passing Bob Black Jack, Big Brown will be rallying from well back on the outside, Colonel John will begin his move from the middle of the pack, but Monba will be best positioned to get the win. He'll duel with Pyro, before winning by a length, Colonel John will get up for third, Big Brown fourth and Bob Black Jack fifth.

There it is. The Blue Grass Stakes winner will make it happen again.

And, since you asked, Big Brown will take the Preakness and Colonel John (after skipping the Preakness) will take the Belmont.

Place your bets!

UPDATE:

My bets are now placed.

$10 Win #14 Monba
$10 Win #9 Pyro
$7 Win #2 Tale of Ekati
$5 Win #13 Bob Blackjack
$2 Ex #14 Monba w/ #9 Pyro
$2 Ex Box #9 Pyro, #10 Colonel John, #20 Big Brown
$2 Tri #14 Monba w/ #9 Pyro w/ #10 Colonel John
$1 Tri #14 Monba, #9 Pyro w/ #14 Monba, #9 Pyro, #10 Colonel John, #20 Big Brown w/ #10 Colonel John, #20 Big Brown, #13 Bob Black Jack
$2 Tri Box #9 Pyro, #10 Colonel John, #20 Big Brown
$1 Super #14 Monba, #9 Pyro, #10 Colonel John, #20 Big Brown
$1 Super #14 Monba, #9 Pyro w/ #14 Monba, #9 Pyro, #10 Colonel John, #20 Big Brown w/ #10 Colonel John, #13 Bob Blackjack, #20 Big Brown w/ #10 Colonel John, #13 Bob Blackjack, #20 Big Brown
$1 High Five #14 Monba w/ #9 Pyro w/ #10 Colonel John w/ #20 Big Brown w/ #13 Bob Blackjack

That's $96 dollars in bets. I planned to spend $100, but lost a few bucks on the 9th race (Oneida did pick the winner by name, however, or I would have lost even more!). Good luck at the windows!

Yeah, the Luckbox stumbled into an $1800 Pick 4 payoff. Remember that horse I didn't push hard enough to include in the Pick 6? Well, I thought enough of her to put her on my Pick 4 ticket. And when Stella Mark won Race 9 as a 15-1 shot, it set the stage for what I imagined might be a nice payout.

The Pick 6 ended up paying out more than $33,000. I'm really kicking myself now that we weren't in on that. Looking back, what's not to like about Stella Mark? I wrote in my notes, "Solid Beyers, good breeding for distance, solid trainer numbers." Not only that, she was coming off a bullet workout at 6 furlongs.

But hindsight is always 20/20. We'll do this again soon. This wasn't necessarily a blow to our confidence. I'm actually pretty happy with my handicapping. Our instincts were right, but your instincts don't always make it onto the ticket. Maybe next time they will.

Race 6: 7f Clm50000
2 Switzerland, 7 Sorcerers Spell, 9 Hit and Hope

BG and I were in agreement that Sorcerer's Spell and Hit and Hope are the top choices in this race. After getting through the whole card, we had enough in our budget to add another horse and it was Switzerland just ahead of the 8 horse, Exceeding.

RESULTS: It's over before it begins. The last horse we left off was Exceeding. He was actually my Dad's favorite in this race, but was just left off the ticket by BG and I. Hit and Hope ran up front most of the way, but faded. The favorite, Switzerland, was never a factor. Socerers Spell ran one of the worst races I've seen in awhile. Started well behind the pack. And I mean WELL. Was forced to unwind really early and came around the turn 12-15 wide. No one can win running a race like that. Very disappointing.

Race 7: 1m Md Sp Wt 50K
1 Colgan's Chip, 5 Sun Lightning

Once again, BG and I locked in on the same two horses. We had some discussion about adding a third horse here, perhaps the 4, Express Rail, the 6, Star Nicholas, or the 11 Tote's Humdinger, but we like our choices.

RESULTS: Photo Finish. Colgan's Chip was the even money favorite (as expected) and ran wire-to-wire. A late charge came from Tote's Humdinger (a horse I liked, but not enough to include), but it appears as though we hit this race. Small consolation since we missed the first. We're still alive for a small 5 for 6 payoff.

Race 8: 6 1/2f (T) Alw 52000N1X
2 Beyond Loaded, 3 Swift Winds, 4 Cadillac (NZ), 6 Black Astor, 7 Ron Bob and Dave, 13 Diamond Dave

As you can see, we selected 6 different horses from the 11 horses in the field. Although that may suggest a lack of confidence in our picks, it actually has more to do with the unique nature of the field. Okay, maybe not. This is a field full of horses with a chance to win this race. If we had to back just one, BG and I are fully behind Beyond Loaded.

RESULTS: Our top choice only got up for fourth, but our next two choices finished first and second. It ended up being an easier race than we thought. We even had the show horse on our ticket. We're now 2 for 3. I'd have rather had the 6 horse win with longer odds, but we'll take the 7 horse at 9/2.

Race 9: 1 1/16m Alw 57000N1X
1 Banner Lodge, 5 Gregorian Bay, 10 Informed

Expect Banner Lodge to be heavily bet. He's the 8/5 morning line favorite and there's a lot of reasons to like this horse. The price, however, should be found on Informed. This is the kind of horse that could help us to a heftier Pick 6 payoff. Due to budget contraints, we left off the 7, Stella Mark and the 12, Cherokee Tear.

RESULTS: Well, hopefully my dad put some money down on Stella Mark. Stella is my niece's name. She paid $33.40 to win. And she eliminated any chance we had at a consolation payoff. The best we did was to get Gregorian Bay up to third. Banner Lodge was the heavy favorite, ran near the front most of the way, and ran out of steam. Informed hung around, but didn't have it at the end either.

Race 10: 1m (T) La Puente 100k
7 Capture the Call, 10 Tiz West, 12 Ez Dreamer

Once again, BG and I were in agreement. It's Tiz West or Ez Dreamer. The last horse we added to the entire ticket was Capture the Call. This race didn't present many more horses we considered.

RESULTS: Well, it was Tiz West. Ran a great race tracking the leader the whole way before making a move just at the top of the stretch. Strong race. Our 2nd choice finished third. Too bad we're not still alive to our single in the 11th.

Race 11: 5 1/2f Md 32000
2 Mr. Elroy

This is it. It's the single. Frankly, there weren't very many other ways to go in this race. Maybe we would have included the 14, Last Black Lion, but, frankly, in order to get in under our budget, this made the most sense. Mr. Elroy should win this race.

RESULTS: Mr. Elroy won it as expected. A little scary, but he won it going away. That made us 4 for 6 for the day, which doesn't pay the bills. Unfortunately, we actually liked the 8 horse back in the 6th race, but didn't have the budget for him. And in the 9th race, well, I fault myself. Not only is the horse named after my niece, but she was my personal second choice, and I didn't push for her on the ticket. We were close, but it doesn't pay the bills. Thanks for investing. We'll try again soon.

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The final tally? 20 investors, $648, 18 horses, 1 big pay day. I'll be adding results here as they come in. Good luck!

1. $25 PokerStars transfer to Up4Poker (Evansville)
2. $25 Full Tilt Poker transfer to UpForPoker (Evansville)
3. $27 PayPal payment to cusephenom -@- yahoo (DOT) com

After making your transfer, please email me at the above address with confirmation that you sent it. Sound good? We'll see you at the track!

This Saturday, we're playing the Pick 6 at a track to be announced. BG is doing what he does best, targeting the right race card. And I'm doing what I do best, soliciting a bunch of our friends to invest their hard-earned or hard-won dollars on this endeavor.

This time around, we're looking for anyone willing to put up $25. It's a smaller investment than normal because we're just a little out of practice. It's a little like... er... riding a horse, but not quite. We want to get back in a rhythm before we make you shell out even more.

Here's how it works:

1) Each share costs $25 and it's one share per person (except BG and I, because, well, we're running this thing).
2) Any winnings under the cost of the bet will be re-invested in a future Pick 6.
3) Any winnings over the cost of the bet will be divided by the number of shares and distributed accordingly.
4) You can pay me in one of two ways, a PokerStars transfer to Up4Poker or a Full Tilt Poker transfer to UpForPoker. Please be VERY careful about the transfer. The location attached to the account should be Evansville. I would send me an email (to cusephenom -@- yahoo (DOT) com) when you do a transfer so I can email you back to let you know it arrived. Per a Joe Speaker request, you may also pay via PayPal, but you're responsible for the $2 juice, so you'll need to send $27 via PayPal to cusephenom -@- yahoo (DOT) com.
5) A transfer of money is an agreement allowing BG and I to use your money to bet on a Pick 6 at a track of our choice on Saturday.
6) Should something prevent a bet on Saturday, a future bet will occur at the first opportunity.
7) All transfers must be made by 6pm CT Friday.

If you have any questions about how this works, let me know. BG are going to hit this sooner or later. We're really hoping it's sooner.

1) Identify the card. Not every Pick 6 is made to be won. Each year, the Breeder's Cup features the Ultra Pick 6. In 2006, no one hit it. The year before, just one ticket that paid almost $3 million. It's a tough card. When BG and I played it last year, it was probably the worst results we'd ever had on a Pick 6 partnership.

It's important to identify a card you feel comfortable handicapping. Sometimes those Grade 1 Stakes are a little trickier, and a card full of Grade 1's might not be right for you. Pick a track you like and a track with which you have some experience.

2) Identify the carryover. A carryover in the Pick 6 is equivalent to an overlay in a tournament. It's money that's added to the pot by someone other than the bettors. That's always a good thing. On that one Pick 6 back in September, there was a whopping $245,000 carryover. When BG and I see something like that, we mobilize.

3) Identify your budget. It's just like your bankroll. You won't sit down at a $5/$10 NL table with $300. Don't plan on betting 4 horses per race with $300. There's simple math here. If you pick 3 horses per race, that's 3x3x3x3x3x3 mutiplied by $2. You better have $1458 for those 18 horses in that case. Mix is up a little, say 4x1x5x5x1x2, muliplied by $2, and you're spending just $400 for those 18 horses. Pick a budget and find a combination that fits.

4) Throw out the losers. Tossing horses is important. It makes it a lot easier to narrow down your choices. In every race, there are at least a handful of horses who just don't belong. I generally work my way through the card and eliminate at least half the horses from any consideration.

5) Find the "singles." Want to keep your budget down? Find at least one race in which you feel like there's a sure thing. Every "single" you find will significantly bring down your costs. Of course, it's scary going into a race with only one horse that will keep you alive, but most people don't have thousands of dollars to spend on a Pick 6 ticket.

6) Identify a few long shots. You'll rarely ever find a Pick 6 ticket full of chalk. It just doesn't happen. The difference between you getting that 5 out of 6 consolation ticket and the guy next to you cashing for six figures is finding the right long shots. You can't (and wouldn't want to) load up your ticket with long shots because, well, they're long shots for a reason. But finding one or two that may shock the field could help you to a much bigger pay day when they come in.

7) Narrow the rest. What I've suggested up until now is easy. This step is the hardest. In general, after completing the steps suggested above, you'll be left with as many as three times as many horses as you can afford to put on your ticket. There's no sure-fire way to narrow your choices. If there were, BG and I would be retired on our Pick 6 winnings by now. Instead, it's about smart handicapping and playing your feelings.

8) Get lucky. This one is kinda self-explanatory. Some of us are better at it than others.

Remember, it's not about handicapping each race individually like you would if you were betting a card. This is about picking 6 straight winners. This is about identifying a group of horses that can win. After you've made your choices and placed your bet, cross your fingers and pray to whatever god of luck you believe in.

And speaking of Pick 6's, BG and I are likely getting back on the horse (pun intended). That means we'll be looking for investors. We'll probably do a small one first to get back in rhythm before targeting a nice potential payday. I'll let you know when the time comes.