Aqueduct to offer $70,977 pick six carryover, mandatory payout on opening day

The New York Racing Association has received approval from the New York State Gaming Commission to offer a mandatory payout on a pick six carryover of $70,977 on opening day of the Aqueduct meet Friday.

The two-day carryover would have been up for grabs at Belmont Park on Sunday – which was scheduled to be closing day of the fall meet – but that program was canceled due to inclement weather.

When the meet ended without the carryover being offered, the rules of racing in New York required the carryover to be held until the next racing day at Belmont, which would have been the beginning of the 2018 spring-summer meet.

But NYRA on Sunday submitted a request to the commission asking to offer the carryover Friday, and late Monday afternoon the commission gave its permission, according to Lee Park, the commission's director of communications.

The pick six pool will be paid out Friday to those bettors selecting the highest number of winners, even if nobody picks all six.

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The Aqueduct pick six will be held on races 5-10, which includes three turf races and three races over the main track.

Friday will be the first day of racing over Aqueduct's new winterized main track and on its new outer turf course, which has been installed over the former inner dirt track.

The 1 1/8-mile main track has a new limestone base and cushion and will be used throughout the winter. The renovations will give NYRA the ability to card distances around one turn up to a mile. The former inner track could only accommodate one-turn races up to six furlongs.

Aqueduct now has two turf courses. The inner turf, which is just more than seven furlongs in circumference, remains unchanged. The new outer turf course was installed over the one-mile inner dirt track.

The outer turf will be able to accommodate turf sprints.

In the Friday pick six, races 5 and 8 will be at a mile over the inner turf and race 9 will be at 6 1/2 furlongs over the outer turf.

Race 3, a mile optional claimer for statebreds, also will be run over the outer turf.

It will be interesting to see how the outer turf course and renovated main track play on opening day, especially with bettors gunning for the carryover.