Belmont: Late scratch plays havoc with pick six

ELMONT, N.Y. - Players who wagered on Thursday’s pick six at Belmont Parkhad a right to be upset after the stewards allowed the scratch of probable heavy favorite, Imagining, from the sixth race after wagering for the pick six closed.

There was a pick six carryover of $131,171 entering the card and an additional $438,913 was wagered into the pool. Imagining would have been an odds-on favorite in a race that was moved to the dirt from the turf.

Bettors who used Imagining in the pick six were put on the post-time favorite, So Scott, who finished third behind longshot Bombaguia ($19.20).

The stewards said that trainer McGaughey was unhappy with the racetrack, which was good and harrowed. In race 3, one race before the pick six began, McGaughey sent out Party of Interest, who finished second in an off-the-turf maiden race.