Pick-six payoff of $1.2 million fifth-largest in Santa Anita history

ARCADIA, Calif. – The $1,199,286 payoff to a single ticket holder in Thursday’s pick six was the fifth-largest in Santa Anita history.

Thursday’s big prize included a scoop of the single-ticket jackpot portion of the pool, a format the track launched at the start of the winter-spring meeting Dec. 26.

According to Santa Anita publicity, the ticket was purchased for $14,400 at Sammy’s satellite wagering location in Lake Forest, Calif., about 60 miles south of Santa Anita.

The single-ticket jackpot had a carryover of $590,443 going into Thursday’s program and was paid out only because there was a single winning ticket. There was a carryover of $133,546 in the main pool. Bettors added $732,730 to the pool Thursday.

This was the first time the single-ticket portion had been hit since Feb. 20, a span of 24 racing days.

The winners of Thursday’s pick-six races were Stately Command ($26.80), Revenue Virginius ($9), Algorhythmic ($9.80), Strong Values ($12.20), Sharp Samurai ($16), and On the Rocks ($55). There were no winning favorites.

Consolation tickets with five winners paid $1,375.

The largest pick-six payoff in track history occurred in February 2008, when one winning ticket was worth $3.1 million.

◗ Sunday is the final day of the winter-spring meeting, but the gap to the next racing day is minimal. The spring-summer meeting begins Friday with a three-day race week and continues through July 4.

Since the meeting operates under one regulatory license, any carryovers in the pick five, pick six, or super high five Sunday will continue to Friday’s program, track officials said.

◗ Om, a three-time graded stakes winner on turf, recently returned to racetrack training for his 5-year-old season, trainer Dan Hendricks said.

Owned by K.B. Sareen, Om has not raced since finishing third in the Grade 2 Seabiscuit Handicap at Del Mar on Nov. 26. Om was second by a nose in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Santa Anita last November.

Om has won 5 of 16 starts and earned $848,845. He won three stakes for 3-year-olds in 2015.