Rainbow 6 gaining steam with mandatory payout looming

The Rainbow 6 carryover at Pimlico Race Course has reached $244,804, and a closing-day mandatory payout on Saturday is looking more and more possible with only three days left in the meet.

Pimlico races Thursday, Friday, and Saturday before Maryland racing takes a summer hiatus until Laurel Park reopens Aug. 1.

The 10-cent Rainbow 6 has carried over for 12 straight cards at Pimlico. It was last hit May 9.

The carryover pool took a big leap forward on Preakness Day, May 16, when $285,562 was wagered and the carryover went from $23,441 to $114,821, an increase of $91,380.

The Rainbow 6 jackpot is paid out only when a single winning ticket selects all six winners in the sequence. The Rainbow 6 was almost hit last Sunday and Friday.

On Sunday, there would have been a single winning ticket if either Atlantic Rider or C V Eis would have won the final race of the day. C V Eis finished third at 13-1, beaten one length.

On Friday, 20-1 Hilde would have taken down the pool, but she missed by a neck while finishing second.

The Rainbow 6 is held on the final six races each day.

The number of betting interests in Thursday’s races are 9, 10, 9, 10, 7, 12. The races are a maiden for 2-year-old fillies, a restricted $25,000 claimer on turf, a maiden for fillies and mares, a first-level filly-and-mare allowance turf sprint, a first-level filly-and-mare optional claimer, and a maiden for fillies and mares.