By Jim Freer
There were no tickets with all six winners on the Rainbow 6 bet on Saturday at Gulfstream Park.
So, the Rainbow 6 payout was divided among the multiple tickets that had winners in five races. It was $4,148.26 per ticket.
There will be a $90,428.71 carryover on the Rainbow 6 today.
Gulfstream will have ten races with first post time of 1:00 p.m. The card has no stakes races.
The Rainbow 6 will be on the fifth through tenth races Scheduled post time for the fifth is 3:00 p.m..
Only one of yesterdays Rainbow 6 races was won by the betting favorite That was a main reason there were no tickets with six winners.
A large number of tickets were eliminated when 18-1 shot Good and Proper won the ninth race.
Good and Proper won the 1 1/16 mile turf race, the day’s feature with a $40,000 purse, by a half length over Concert Stage. The 3-year-old gelding is trained by Larry Bates and was ridden by Edgard Zayas.
The race had eleven starters, typical of the large fields in turf races that are part of the Rainbow 6 and of Gulfstream field sizes in general during the summer meet that began July 1.
For the current meet, Gulfstream and the Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association are combining to pay $250 to each trainer in a race where eight or more horses leave the walking ring for the track.
From this Thursday through Saturday, Gulfstream reached that eight-horse level in 24 of 28 races. The average number of starters per race was 8.75.
Reviews of Equibase charts indicate that average was in the 8.0 to 8.2 range during most weeks in Gulfstream’s spring meet.
And while there is no formal evidence, indications are that the starter incentives are helping Gulfstream’s field sizes cause.
Rainbow 6 Rules
Gulfstream pays out the full Rainbow 6 pool (day’s bets plus carryover) only on days when there is just one ticket with all six winners.
On other days it divides 70 percent of the day’s Rainbow 6 bet among tickets with six winners and adds the remaining 30 percent to the carryover.
When there are no tickets with six winners, the 70 percent payout is divided among tickets with five winners.
On days when there are tickets with six winners there are no “five of six” consolation payouts.
The Rainbow 6 is a 20 cents-only per combination bet. A ticket can have multiple horses in each race, and thus multiple combinations.
For example, a ticket with two horses per race has 64 combinations and costs $12,80.
Saturday was the sixth straight day on which there were multiple winners on the Rainbow 6.
For the day, bettors at Gulfstream and around the country wagered $81,522 on the Rainbow 6.
All-sources handle was $6,095,892 for 11 races. That was the second highest so far in seven days for the summer meet.
Last Sunday, on Summit of Speed day, all-sources handle was $8,071,589 for 12 races.
Sunday Races
It is likely that more than $50,000 will be bet on the Rainbow 6 today.
The six races have 73 entrants, including horses that are Main Track Only and Also Eligible.
The sequence has three claiming races, two maiden special weight races for 2-year-olds and a $16,000 optional claimer with a $40,000 purse.
The tenth race presents the kind of handicapping challenge that is typical for a last race at Gulfstream.
It is a $12,500 claimer at 1 1/16 miles on turf for 3-year-olds and upward that have not won more than one race. The purse is $18,000.
It will have a field of 12, following the morning scratches of Go Go Romeo (4) and Amace (6) and of Also Eligibles He’s Tuned (15) and More Zen Ready (16).
Southern Stroll (2), Wildcat Kitten (7) and Trapnall Hall (11) are the likely favorites–based on some recent results that indicate they are on the upswing.
Southern Stroll is coming off a maiden win at 7 1/2 furlongs on the Gulfstream turf on June 19, He has a win, a second place finish and a third place finish in three starts on the Gulfstream turf.
Eddie Castro will ride for trainer Jorge Navarro.
Wildcat Kitten finished third in a $16,000 claiming race at one mile on Gulfstream’s turf on June 24. Zayas will ride the son of Kitten’s Joy for trainer Gary Jackson.
Trapnall Hall broke his maiden at Gulfstream on June 12, He led at every call and won at 1 1/16 miles on the turf.
Harry Hernandez has the return mount for trainer David Fawkes.
Southern Stroll and Wildcat Kitten likely will be in he second flight of horses.
Past performances indicate that T Minus (10)could challenge Trapnall Hall for the early lead, And there is a prospect that T Minus will benefit from a drop n class.
T Minus has raced seven times on the Gulfstream turf this year, finishing no better than fourth. But all except one of those races were at claiming levels higher than today’s $12,500 level.
Cases can be made for several other horses in today’s nightcap. But a case also can be made to”get out a blindfold and a pin.”