Pick six payoff planned at Del Mar

Del Mar is planning a mandatory payout in the 20-cent Rainbow pick six on Sunday, the first such promotion of the track’s summer meeting.

On Saturday, the pick six will have a guaranteed payout of $1 million if there is a single winning ticket.

Through the first three days of the meeting, which began July 21, there were no single winning tickets in the pick six, leaving a carryover of $195,122 for Thursday’s program.

A mandatory payout in the pick six may boost handle after an opening weekend in which total handle “was down a little bit,” according to chief financial officer Mike Ernst.

Ernst said the track forecast a decline after adjusting betting parameters prior to the meeting on computer-assisted wagering formats which can pour sizable amounts of money into win pools moments before the start of a race.

The track is limiting large win bets from such formats to prior to two minutes to post time in an effort to eliminate wide fluctuations in odds that left rank-and-file bettors infuriated.

Ernst said the rebate amounts for some high-volume players were also reduced, allowing more revenue to be retained for purses and track commissions.

Ernst did not detail the decline in total handle for opening weekend or the rebate amounts offered to high-volume players.

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“We expected handle would be down with improved yields,” Ernst said.

Ernst said a better indication of business trends will be known by early August after the first three weeks of the meeting, which continues through Sept. 10.

Over the first three days of the season, fields averaged 10.1 runners per race compared to 10 runners in the corresponding period on opening weekend of the 2022 summer meeting. Fields averaged a record 9.14 for the entire 2022 summer meeting, compared to 8.45 at the 2021 summer meeting.

“We couldn’t be happier with the racing product,” Ernst said.

Valdivia appeals three-day suspension

Jockey Jose Valdivia, Jr. has been granted a temporary restraining order against the California Horse Racing Board by a San Diego county court to allow him to ride this weekend after being given a three-day suspension for careless riding issued by Del Mar stewards last Saturday.

The restraining order allows Valdivia to take mounts this weekend. Valdivia initially appealed the penalty to the racing board, but the request was denied by chairman Greg Ferraro, leading to the court action, stewards said.

Valdivia was cited for altering course without clearance on My Moon, who finished 11th of 12 in a maiden race on turf on July 21. The suspension was scheduled to begin this Saturday and cover three racing days through Aug. 3.

Valdivia, who won his 2,000th race in North America earlier this summer, has three mounts on Saturday’s 11-race program.

Jockeys Cerapio Figueroa and Ricardo Ramirez are suspended for a single day on Friday for excessive use of the whip in races at Los Alamitos on July 9. Both riders were also fined $250 for the infractions.

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