A Huge Payoff for $64

Wednesday’s three winning pick six tickets, each worth more than $1.567 million, proved that small and large investors can win.

The ticket bought through New York off-track betting cost $64, the one at Viejas Casino and Turf Club in Alpine, Calif., was $288 and the one bought at Trackside Louisville in Kentucky cost $2,160.

Nine people reportedly were involved in the Viejas ticket, which singled River Lights in the third race, used four horses in the fourth, including 9-1 winner Deputy Tombe; two in the fifth, including winner Rave Party; two in the sixth, including favored Ditch Digger; three in the seventh, including wire-to-wire upsetter Ran For The Dough; and three in the eighth, including 32-1 knockout Houston Astro.

The $64 ticket had two horses in the eighth -- Houston Astro and third-place finisher Really Suspect. The most expensive ticket had three horses -- Houston Astro, Really Suspect and Memo House, the 7-5 favorite, who finished second -- in the finale.

This means there is one person or group out there with one of the all-time hard-luck stories.

One pick six ticket was alive to Flying Kegan, a 75-1 longshot, who was headed to an apparent victory when he broke down with about a sixteenth of a mile to run.

Had Flying Kegan won, there would have been one correct ticket worth more than $4.7 million.