Del Mar looks to change pick six at summer meet
ARCADIA, Calif. – Del Mar will seek approval from the California Horse Racing Board in the coming weeks to change the format of the pick six for the summer meeting, eliminating a consolation payoff and dedicating that portion of the pool to be distributed to a single ticketholder.
The proposal is similar to pick six bets currently conducted at Gulfstream Park and Golden Gate Fields, but with an emphasis on paying a majority of the pool to bettors with six winners each day.
Under the proposed format, Del Mar will dedicate 80 percent of the net pick six pool to be distributed to perfect tickets. The remaining 20 percent would be distributed if there is a single winning ticketholder, or would be carried over until a pick six is won by a single ticketholder.
Gulfstream Park’s Rainbow Six distributes 70 percent to tickets with six winners and reserves 30 percent to be paid to a single winning ticketholder. The Rainbow Six has a 20-cent minimum. Del Mar plans to retain a $2 minimum price for the pick six.
Del Mar's proposal will be discussed in the coming weeks by the racing board's pari-mutuel committee before the track seeks approval from the full racing board, which is expected to occur at the board's next meeting at Los Alamitos on June 25.
If approved, the new pick six format would be used for the track’s summer meeting from July 16 to Sept. 7.
The proposal is seen by track executives as a way to revive the pick six, which has been surpassed in popularity by 50-cent pick five and pick four bets in the last five years.
The pick six "is falling like a rock, and we need to do something," Craig Dado, Del Mar's chief marketing officer, said after Thursday's meeting. "It's still the national pick six. When there is a carryover, it significantly affects our business."
Dado said pick six pools have fallen 61 percent on non-carryover days in the last decade, while pick five pools have risen 75 percent since 2011 and pick four pools have risen 23 percent in the same time frame.