$2.6 million Rainbow 6 carryover kicks off racing week
It’s been nearly two months – Jan. 13, to be exact – since a lone bettor has been able to empty the Rainbow 6 jackpot at Gulfstream Park. Through 39 days of racing, there have been a few close calls, but when the sun had set Sunday evening in south Florida, the pool stood intact at a whopping $2,635,571.
As usual, horseplayers will be taking their swings at glory when racing resumes Wednesday at Gulfstream. The Rainbow 6 sequence runs from races 6 to 11, with a few hundred thousand dollars in new money likely to come pouring in. First post is 12:35 p.m. Eastern, with race 6 set for 3:05.
The jackpot is paid out only when there is a single ticket sold with all six winners. Otherwise, 70 percent of that day’s pool (following takeout) is paid on tickets with the most winners, with the remainder added to the carryover.
Gulfstream announced last week that a mandatory payout of the Rainbow 6 will be held March 26.
New bets into the Rainbow 6 on Sunday totaled $550,293, with multiple winning tickets returning $2,809.
With dry conditions in the forecast all week, here is a brief rundown of the Rainbow 6 races Wednesday:
Race 6: The second race on Feb. 24 looms as an obvious key race toward this, with Spring Me (second), Starship Brooklyn (third), and Mo Wees (well beaten at 3-1 with an excuse) all wheeling back as the prime contenders in this $12,500 maiden-claiming sprint.
Race 7: Maybe the winner will come from the inside foursome – Foxhall Drive, Cozy Kitten, Dream Man, and Prince Vincenzo – but this is a typical midrange Gulfstream turf claimer that drew a big field and the usual scrambled look.
Race 8: This is another turf race in which the winner seems likely to come from one of the inside posts, with a couple of last-out claims – True Diplomacy and Brevard – among them. An upset by one of the outsiders would increase the chances of a solo sweep.
Race 9: The rail-drawn Smokin Red Hot merits a very close look off the Mike Trombetta claim. She goes from a dirt sprint to 7 1/2 furlongs on turf, and if the new surface or distance don’t agree with her, it’s hard to pinpoint a surefire contender. Seven of the nine fillies in the main body of the field are listed at single-digit morning-line odds.
Race 10: Ramblin N Gamblin was an impressive first-out winner and now takes the requisite raise in class as part of a full field in this starter optional claimer. Tight Weave is a lukewarm program favorite but looks a little shaky when entered for a first claiming tag off a six-month layoff.
Race 11: Best of luck dissecting this full field of bottom-rung maiden claimers, as none of the likely favorites has shown much of a desire to win, and none of the longshots has given much hope of improving enough to win on this circuit.