Gulfstream Today: Bonita Stakes; Tribute to Chuck Streva; $350,000 Rainbow 6 Guarantee
By Jim Freer
Saturday, August 15–Fans who go to Gulfstream Park this afternoon will find the $75,000 Bonita Stakes, with a rematch between the up-and-coming turf sprinters Successful Native and Noble Prince.
There will be a tribute after the fourth race to Chuck Streva, the long-time Miami Herald handicapper and racing charts writer who passed away a year ago this week.
In addition, there is a carryover of $224,076 on the Rainbow 6 on the last six races (six through 11), Gulfstream has guaranteed that there will be a payout of at least $350,000 if there is just one ticket with the winners of all six races.
The Bonita is the fifth race with scheduled post of 3:16 p.m. It is five furlongs on turf for 3-year-olds and up. First post for the 11-race card is 1:15 p.m.
On July 5, Successful Native beat Noble Prince by a neck in the $75,000 Bob Umphrey Turf Sprint at Gulfstream.
Breitling Flyer finished third in the Bob Umphrey, 4 1/2 lengths behind the winner, Anyriderill Do finished fourth, another head back. Hold on Smokey finished sixth.
All three are back to face stalker Successful Native and the speedy Noble Prince this afternoon.
Singanothersong, a Gulfstream dirt stakes veteran, will be making just his second turf start and could seek the early lead,
* Gulfstream has named today’s fourth race in honor of Chuck Streva, who passed away on Aug. 14, 2014 after a long and courageous battle with cancer. He was only 56.
In addition to his handicapping, Chuck set the morning line at Gulfstream and at Calder. He was best known in the racing industry for writing the race summaries that appear in charts on the Equibase and Daily Racing Form Web sites. He was nationally recognized for his work and was one of the nicest persons you could ever meet,
For five years, I was privileged to have the office next to Chuck and his highly regarded Equibase colleague Leslie Merrins Sage. I learned an immense amount about racing from Chuck and I am proud to be among the legion of his friends in the Florida racing community.
Members of Chuck’s family will join many of his friends in the winner’s circle after the fourth race.
* Three horses won at odds of 18-1 or higher in Friday’s Rainbow 6.
That knocked out most of the tickets and left just two tickets with all six winners. Each received $23,433.10.
Gulfstream pays out the full Rainbow 6 pool (day’s bets plus carryover) only on days when there is just one ticket with the winners of all six races. On other days, it divides 70 percent of the day’s pool among tickets with six winners and puts the remaining 30 percent into the carryover.
It has been 17 racing days since July 16, the last day with just one Rainbow 6 winner. The payoff was $164,183 that day, and the carryover has been building since then.
The Rainbow 6 is a 20-cent only per combination be.
Friday’s wagering on the Rainbow 6 was $83,694–in anticipation of a big payoff with or without a jackpot.
That was part of the strong all-sources handle of $4,120,880 on the ten-race card.
Past experience for Saturdays with growing Rainbow 6 pools indicates that $150,000 or more could be wagered on it today–a combination of live and off-site betting.
The Rainbow 6 begins on the sixth race, with scheduled post of 3:46 p.m.–and as often in the summer there is the prospect of foul weather.
Heavy rain was fell at Gulfstream in Hallandale Beach early this morning, but skies had cleared by 10:15. And isolated thunderstorms are in the forecast throughout the day.
In the Rainbow 6, the seventh and ninth races are scheduled for the turf.
If races are taken off the turf, the better alternative for Gulfstream and bettors is for that to happen before the start of the Rainbow 6, Pick 5 and Late Pick 4.
Last Sunday, Aug. 9, heavy rain began falling after the ninth race on an 11-race card.
That forced Gulfstream to take the 11th and final race off the turf. Under Gulfstream’s rules, all live tickets in the Pick 4, Pick 5 and Rainbow 6 were given ALL in the last leg.
Can Can Lady at 12-1 won the “off turf” race on a sloppy sealed track. The Rainbow 6 paid $2,288.44.
Those who bet on Can Can Lady would have preferred the alternative fall-backs of consolation payoffs or substituting the post time favorite for scratches.
There are merits for those two systems and for Gulfstream’s system. That is fodder for another story
For today, the hope is for clear skies for a challenging card. The Rainbow 6 races have 69 entrants, including main trac