Golden Gate meet opens with debut of new pick six

The 19-day summer meeting at Golden Gate Fields opens with a new version of the pick six. The Stronach Group-owned track will debut the 20-cent wager when the track opens Friday.

Gulfstream Park, Golden Gate’s sister track in Florida, unveiled the wager at its meet earlier this year, and the Oak Tree at Pleasanton meet also offered the wager. The Golden Pick 6, offered daily on the final six races on the card, is a jackpot-style wager paid out if there is only one winning ticket with all six winners.

On days when there is no winning ticket or multiple winning tickets, 70 percent of the pool will be distributed, with a 30 percent carryover. The entire pool will be paid out on the final day of the meeting, Sept. 14.

“Hopefully, it will be something we can continue on to our fall meet if it is successful,” said Calvin Rainey, Golden Gate’s vice president and general manager. “We don’t have a lot of play at Golden Gate in the pick six, but we think this is good for the wagering public. This helps with more of the pool being returned daily to the public.”

While the new wager will generate attention, Rainey said recent renovations to Golden Gate’s Tapeta main track and turf course will be helpful to horses and horsemen.

“As soon as we closed in June, we began working on both the main track and turf course,” he said.

The meet will run Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, with additional race days Thursdays, Aug. 28 and Sept. 11; Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 1; and Wednesday, Sept. 3, Del Mar’s closing day.

One stakes race will be offered during the meeting on Labor Day, the $50,000-added Rolling Green, a 1 1/16-mile turf race for 3-year-olds and up.

The meet’s first two weekends coincide with the Humboldt County Fair meet in Ferndale, Calif., and the track has agreed not to card any races for less than a $5,000 claiming tag.

The overlap is the only one in the state, but Rainey said Golden Gate understands the importance of all tracks supporting each other and said Golden Gate is trying to be a “good neighbor.”

“In the past, we’ve been supportive of Humboldt, and we’re doing so this year,” said Rainey, pointing out that the fair gets the Northern California share of simulcast wagers Wednesday and Thursday.

“We also worked closely with Santa Rosa this year,” he said of the meet preceding the Golden Gate meet.