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$1 Million Jackpot Bet Up For Grabs Thursday At Del Mar

The featured attraction on this Thursday's Del Mar card is a one-mile turf allowance race for 3-year-olds that has drawn 13 runners, though only nine of them will be able to go postward with the rail out at its maximum extension of 30 feet, making for a snug fit on the seven-eighths oval. It will go as the eighth and last race on the day's card.

But the co-feature of the afternoon no doubt will be those racing fans trying to take down the track's Pick Six Single Ticket Jackpot Wager which, after going unsolved for 12 straight days, will offer Thursday racegoers a chance to take down a prize of $1,127,460. The bet will be conducted on Races 3 through 8. So with first post set for 2 p.m., the Pick Six opener will go at approximately 3 p.m.

Two colts who finished second and fourth in the opening day Oceanside Stakes appear likely to draw the most attention in the $72,000 Thursday headliner. They would be Hronis Racing's Crew Dragon and Reddam Racing's Hockey Dad.

The former, a son of Exaggerator, came running late in the one-mile Oceanside and just missed by a head. It was the chestnut's first start for his new connections, which includes trainer John Sadler. He'd been racing in the east previously where he'd put together a win, a second and four thirds in six outings. Umberto Rispoli rode him in the Oceanside and he'll be back up on Thursday.

Hockey Dad showed a good turn of foot in the Oceanside, leading the race for the start to deep stretch where he gave way late and finished fourth, though only a half-length off the winner. Hockey Dad, a California homebred by Nyquist, has three wins in seven lifetime starts. Regular rider Mario Gutierrez will be back up once again Thursday.

Here's the full field for the feature from the rail out with riders:

Hockey Dad; Crew Dragon; Rockingham Ranch's Numbero Dix (Flavien Prat); Gary Barber's Laker Mamba (Abel Cedillo); Mt Brillant Farm and Ranch's War Machine (Trevor McCarthy); Holly and David Wilson's Barraza (Kent Desormeaux); Jones, Nentwig or Pagano, et al's Swiss Swoo (Tiago Pereira); Red Baron's Barn or Rancho Temescal's Cotopaxi (Drayden Van Dyke), and Amo Racing's The Hulk (Kyle Frey).

There are also four also-eligibles in the lineup who'll need a withdrawal from the main body of the race in order to run. They are:

Isa Salman Al Khalifa's Mohawk King (Juan Hernandez); Lea Farms' Fuego Caliente (Jose Valdiva, Jr.); STD Racing Stable, Logan or Miller, et al's Optimistic Valor (Joe Bravo), and Red Baron's Barn or Rancho Temescal's Dicey Mo Chara (Tyler Baze).

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Craig Siedler Sweeps To Victory In Del Mar Summer Handicapping Challenge

Craig Siedler, from Henderson, NV, catapulted into the lead in the second race Saturday and never looked back in the two-day 18th annual Del Mar Summer Challenge. Siedler won handily over 127 classy entries with a final bankroll of an unfathomable $100,000 from the $3,000 starting bankroll. Prize winnings totaled $50,000 including $35,000 cash, a $10,000 Breeders' Cup Betting Challenge (BCBC) entry at Del Mar and an August 21 $5,000 Pacific Classic Betting Challenge Del Mar entry. The final bankroll and prizes totaled $150,000.

Matt Arndt of Tempe, AZ and Jim Meeks from Elko, NV finished second and third to round out the top three. Cash and prizes for Matt were $27,000 while Jim received $15,000.

Siedler hit exacta and trifecta wagers in the contest's second race to put him in the lead with a score of over $19,000 then followed that up with a nearly all-time exacta payoff in race 7. Siedler had 78-1 winner Miss Carousel over 27-1 After Midnight an amazing 50 times for more than $51,000 in race winnings. The $1 exacta payoff of $1,025 just missed an all-time Del Mar record. His incredible day ended with $82,617 and he kept firing Sunday pushing his total all the way to the insurmountable six figure finale.

The top five finishers receive BCBC entries in the November 5 and 6 Breeders' Cup at Del Mar.

PLACE NAME FINAL BANKROLL

1 Craig Siedler $100,000.70
2 Matt Arndt $47,080.00
3 Jim Meeks $36,000.00
4 Bill Chenvert $27,400.50
5 Ron Myeress $20,315.20
6 Rob Talstra $14,003.50
7 Michael Shutty $13,000.00
8 Carl Rasak $12,456.00
9 Gary West $11,570.00
10 Steve Eisner $8,416.50

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Golden Gate Fields Schedules Mandatory Payouts For Sunday Card

Mandatory payouts in the Golden Pick Six jackpot wager, the Rolling Super High Five and Pick 5 bets highlight the wagering menu this Sunday, August 1 at Golden Gate Fields. First post on the 9-race program is 1:45 PM PT.

The Golden Pick Six, a 20-cent minimum bet, goes as Races 4 through 9 on the Sunday program. Among the races in the sequence: a 2-year-old maiden special weight, an allowance for colts and geldings, and a pair of turf routes. Heading into the Golden Pick Six wager on Friday, there is a small carryover of $2,270. If there is not a single ticket “jackpot” winner on Friday and or Saturday, the carryover will increase by Sunday.

The Rolling Super High Five is offered in any race in which there are seven or more starters. For horseplayers to hit this $1 minimum bet, they must correctly tab the first five finishers in a race. The mandatory payout for this wager comes in the last race in which the 'High Five is offered.

The Early Pick 5 (Races 1-5), popular amongst horseplayers nationwide, is a low 14% takeout bet every day. The Late Pick 5 (Races 5-9), like the early wager, is a 50-cent minimum bet.

Next Friday, the two-week Wine Country Racing meet begins at Golden Gate. The Wine Country meet offers live racing three days a week, Friday through Sunday. At the conclusion of the Wine Country meet on Sunday, August 15, Golden Gate takes one week off before returning for the remainder of the summer racing season, with live racing scheduled from Friday, August 27 through Sunday, October 3. For more information, please visit goldengatefields.com.

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Equibase Analysis: Vertical Threat Poised To Upset Bing Crosby

This Saturday's Grade 1, $300,000 Bing Crosby Stakes at Del Mar is a “Win & You're In” for the Breeders' Cup Sprint this fall and as such drew a field full of very good sprinters, nine to be exact. Last year's Bing Crosby Stakes winner Collusion Illusion is back to defend his title but whereas he was sent to post at nine to five odds one year ago on the strength of three straight wins, including the Grade 3 Lazaro Barrera Stakes, this year Collusion Illusion returns from seven months off and lost his last three starts of 2020.

Instead, favoritism is likely to go to C Z Rocket with career earnings of nearly $1.4 million, much of that earned when second in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Sprint last fall and when winning the Grade 2 Pat O'Brien Stakes at Del Mar last summer. Law Abidin Citizen was third in last year's Bing Crosby behind Collusion Illusion then four weeks later finished third in the Pat O'Brien behind C Z Rocket. He enters the race off a win in the Oak Tree Sprint Stakes four weeks ago at Pleasanton.

Vertical Threat is another with strong stakes credentials, last seen winning the Steel Valley Sprint Stakes in November and having also won the Smiling Tiger Stakes at Del Mar last summer. Quick Tempo returned from nearly seven months off four weeks ago for a strong second place effort in the Iowa Sprint Stakes, while Brickyard Ride easily won the Grade 2 San Carlos Stakes in March and enters the race off a win in the Thor's Echo Stakes.

Shooters Shoot is yet another with good credentials in similar sprint stakes as he was second in the Grade 2 Triple Bend Stakes when last seen at the end of May. Eight Rings finished fourth in that race as the eight to five favorite and hasn't run since. Dr. Schivel rounds out the field, but has to be considered a contender as he won the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity last summer and returned from nine months off to win just last month.

Vertical Threat is a perfect three-for-three in sprints. Each of those three wins came at the six furlong distance of the Bing Crosby. One of those wins came at Del Mar last summer when, in only the second start of his career, Vertical Threat won the Smiling Tiger Stakes. That effort earned him a career-best 107 ™ Equibase® Speed Figure off a 102 figure one month earlier. After a failed attempt at a longer distance in the Pat Day Mile last September, Vertical Threat rested two months and shipped to Ohio for a dominant performance with a field high 118 figure winning the Steel Valley Sprint Stakes in a field of 12. In this year's Bing Crosby there is likely to be a contested early pace battle between Quick Tempo and Brickyard Ride, who have only won when leading from the start. Considering Vertical Threat closed from off the pace to win last June then again in July in the Smiling Tiger, the colt could get first run on the tiring leaders and hold off any horses farther back in the early stages. Additionally, he's very likely to be stronger as a four year old so having put in some superb workouts for his comeback, Vertical Threat has a fine chance to keep his perfect record at the distance intact to win.

C Z Rocket has won 11 of 26 career races including four of eight at this distance. He also won the only time he ever raced at Del Mar. That win came last year when taking the Pat O'Brien Stakes at seven furlongs in August with a 110 ™ figure. C Z Rocket is even faster at this six furlong trip, as he earned a 117 figure last September when victorious in the Santa Anita Sprint Championship. Not disgraced one bit when second behind Whitmore in the Breeders' Cup Sprint last fall, C Z Rocket won his first two starts of 2021, first with a 111 figure in the Hot Springs Stakes then a 114 in the Count Fleet Sprint Handicap. Stretching out to a mile and running over a sloppy track, C Z Rocket was second in the Steve Sexton Mile in May and on the cut back to his best distance has every right to rebound to a winning effort.

Dr. Schivel, like Vertical Threat, has only run five times. He improved markedly last summer at Del Mar when easily winning to break his maiden in his third career start (with a 108 figure) before victory in the Del Mar Futurity as the betting favorite. Taking his time to get back to the races, Dr. Schivel returned in June as if he had never been away as he relaxed in fourth in the early stages before getting up by a neck right on the wire. That effort earned him a new career best 109 figure from which he should improve in his second start off the layoff, and as a previous grade 1 stakes winner, Dr. Schivel could certainly run well enough to win.

The rest of the field, with their best ™ Equibase Speed Figures, is Brickyard Ride (115), Collusion Illusion (111), Eight Rings (104), Law Abidin Citizen (108), Quick Tempo (107) and Shooters Shoot (101).

Win Contenders:
Vertical Threat
C Z Rocket
Dr. Schivel

Bing Crosby Stakes – Grade 1
Race 10 at Del Mar
Saturday, July 31 – Post Time 9:30 PM E.T.
Six Furlongs
Three Years Olds and Upward
Purse: $300,000

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