The 20-cent Rainbow 6 went unsolved for the 25th consecutive racing day Sunday, boosting the Maryland state record carryover jackpot to $1,351,928.63 when live action returns Friday, July 2.
No horses were live to take down the jackpot entering Sunday's seventh-race finale, won by 4-5 favorite Sam and Sy ($3.20) and Preakness Meet-leading jockey Charlie Marquez. A total of $125,174 was added to Saturday's carryover of $1,311,881.31. Multiple tickets with all six winners paid $223.78.
Last solved for a $23,346.70 payout May 7, the Rainbow 6 jackpot is paid out only when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. On days when there is no unique ticket, 60 percent of that day's pool goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners while 40 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool.
Introduced in Maryland April 2, 2015 on opening day of Pimlico's spring meet, the Rainbow 6 has far surpassed its previous state record carryover of $345,898.33 spanning 31 racing programs before being solved by one lucky bettor for a life-changing $399,545.94 payout April 15, 2018 at Laurel Park. The winning ticket was purchased through Maine off-track betting.
Friday's Rainbow 6 will span Races 3-8. The sequence opens with a waiver maiden claimer for 2-year-old fillies sprinting five furlongs on the main track, and includes two races scheduled for one mile over the turf course which drew a total of 28 entries.
Saturday's all-stakes Cross Country Pick 5 featuring action from Belmont Park in Elmont, Ny., Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., and Thistledown in North Randall, Oh. paid $803.25 for selecting all five winners for the 50-cent wager. The total pool was $206,425.
Graded stakes action commenced the sequence when Double Thunder, at 4-1, won the Grade 3, $150,000 Bashford Manor for juveniles going six furlongs on the main track in Churchill's Race 9. The Hall of Fame duo of trainer Todd Pletcher and jockey John Velazquez teamed for another score, as Double Thunder posted a 4 3/4-length victory and paid $10.20 on a $2 win wager. Pletcher saw his charge complete the course in a final time of 1:11.17.
Thistledown took center stage in the second leg as the favorite Masqueparade bested King Fury by a half-length to win the $500,000 Grade 3 Ohio Derby for 3-year-olds going 1 1/8 miles on the main track in Race 9. Trainer Al Stall, Jr. won the prestigious race with Masqueparade, under rider Miguel Mena, hit the wire in 1:50.82. The winner paid $6.40.
Belmont Park got in on the act in Race 9 when Runaway Rumour made a furious late bid from the outside before finishing strong in a half-length victory in the $100,000 Wild Applause Stakes for 3-year-old fillies going one mile on the Widener turf course. Jockey Luis Cardenas earned his first career stakes win, with the Jorge Abreu trainee paying $29. Runaway Rumour improved to 3-for-3 in her career, completing the course in 1:34.25.
Churchill Downs hosted the last two legs, starting with Set Piece's half-length win in the $300,000 Grade 2 Wise Dan Stakes for 4-year-olds and up going 1 1/16 miles on the turf in Race 10. Set Piece, trained by Brad Cox and ridden by Florent Geroux, returned $5.40 as the favorite. Set Piece, who was last-of-10 a half-mile in, rallied to post a final time of 1:40.50.
Maxfield, another favorite, concluded the sequence with a 3 1/4-length win in the $600,000 Grade 2 Stephen Foster in Race 11. Conditioned by Brendan Walsh with jockey Jose Ortiz shipping in to ride at Churchill for the day, Maxfield tracked in sixth position on the backstretch in the 1 1/8-mile race on the dirt before having plenty in reserve for the stretch run, registering a final time of 1:48.53. Maxfield paid $2.80.
The minimum bet for the multi-track, multi-race wager is 50 cents. Wagering on the Cross Country Pick 5 is also available on track, on ADW platforms, and at simulcast facilities across the country. Every week will feature a mandatory payout of the net pool.
The Cross Country Pick 5 will continue each Saturday throughout the year. For more information, visit NYRABets.com.
Gulfstream Park's mandatory Rainbow 6 payout Saturday returned $567.80.
There was a carryover of $464,802.90 and $2.784 million of new money was put into the pool Saturday.
The Rainbow 6 sequence was Races 7 through 12 with the winners Personal Meadow ($3.80), Fuego Caliente ($14), Boldness ($9), Mr Tito's ($4.80), Divert ($7), and Wolfhand ($3.20).
The Rainbow 6 carryover jackpot is usually only paid out when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. On days when there is no unique ticket, 70 percent of that day's pool usually goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners, while 30 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool. However, on mandatory-payout days, the entire pool is paid out to the bettor or bettors with the most winners in the six-race sequence.
The Rainbow 6 will have a guaranteed pool of $50,000 when racing resumes Sunday with a 12:50 p.m. first race post. There will be another mandatory payout of the Rainbow 6 on Wednesday.
Even-money favorite Aperitivo held off Supporting Actor the length of the stretch to capture Saturday's ninth-race finale at historic Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md. and keep the Maryland state record 20-cent Rainbow 6 carryover jackpot alive for another day.
Supporting Actor, one of two in a five-horse field live for a life-changing $1.36 million jackpot payout, stalked Aperitivo ($4) from the gate but was unable to get by and lost a head bob at the wire as the carryover swelled to $1,311,881.31 for Sunday's seven-race program.
A total of $109,882 was bet into the popular multi-race wager on top of a carryover of $1,276,727.08 from Friday's card. Now unsolved for 24 consecutive racing days since being hit for a $23,346.70 payout May 7, the Rainbow 6 saw multiple tickets with all six winners each return $7,533.04.
The Rainbow 6 jackpot is paid out only when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. On days when there is no unique ticket, 60 percent of that day's pool goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners while 40 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool.
Introduced in Maryland April 2, 2015 on opening day of Pimlico's spring meet, the Rainbow 6 has far surpassed its previous state record carryover of $345,898.33 spanning 31 racing programs before being solved by one lucky bettor for a life-changing $399,545.94 payout April 15, 2018 at Laurel Park. The winning ticket was purchased through Maine off-track betting.
Sunday's Rainbow 6 sequence kicks off with a 1 1/16-mile starter optional claimer for fillies and mares 3 and up in Race 2 (1:08 p.m. Eastern). Four of the six horses exit a similar spot on the turf May 28 at Pimlico including runner-up Bethabara, favored at 2-1 on the morning line, and fourth-place finisher Double Fireball, rated at 8-1.
Race 4 (2:09 p.m.) is a maiden special weight for horses age 3, 4, and 5 sprinting six furlongs that attracted a field of seven led by 4-year-old Treasure Beach gelding Voltamour. Racing second time off a layoff for trainer Kieron Magee, he is the narrow 5-2 program favorite over second-time starters Dashing Circles (3-1) and Dialing Dixie, the latter claimed after losing by a head in his June 4 debut.
A third-level optional claiming allowance for 3-year-olds and up going 1 1/16 miles in Race 6 (3:12 p.m.) serves as the Sunday feature. Breaking from the rail as the even-money morning line favorite is Harpers First Ride, back in the barn of Maryland's leading trainer Claudio Gonzalez, for whom he won nine of 15 starts including Laurel's Deputed Testamony, Richard W. Small, and Native Dancer in addition to the Pimlico Special (G3) in 2020 before being sold prior to a run in the Jan. 23 Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) at Gulfstream Park.
Winless in three starts for Midwest-based trainer Robertino Diodoro, including running 10th in defense of his Pimlico Special title May 14, Harpers First Ride has breezed three times at Pimlico since that race, most recently going five furlongs in 1:01 June 19. Among his rivals is Gonzalez-trained stablemate Tybalt and stakes winner Hockey Puck.
There will also be a carryover of $10,087.05 in the 50-cent Late Pick 5 (Races 3-7). Tickets with four of five winners Saturday were worth $60.
