Rainbow 6 players will get extra time to prepare for Memorial Day

Gulfstream president and general manager Tim Ritvo said entries for the Memorial Day program on May 26 will be drawn four days in advance on Thursday to accommodate patrons wishing to play the Rainbow 6 on Memorial Day. May 26 has been designated by Gulfstream management as the mandatory payout for the Rainbow 6 pool, which has survived since Jan. 10. The jackpot exceeded $6 million when racing resumed here Friday.

“We’ll draw both Sunday and Monday’s programs on the 22nd and will choose the six best races we have for the Rainbow 6 at that time,” said Ritvo, who estimates that the final Rainbow 6 pool could swell to as much as $20 million by the time the final 20-cent wager is placed on Memorial Day.

Short field in Sunday feature

A field of five, topped by Kings Over and Majestic Cause, was drawn for Sunday’s $33,250 feature, a second-level optional $62,500 claiming race at one mile.

Kings Over, who also was entered in Saturday’s Flying Pidgeon Stakes on turf by trainer Peter Walder, is riding a three-race win streak that includes a similarly conditioned optional claimer going a mile here four weeks ago.

Majestic Cause is one of two horses trainer Marty Wolfson entered in Sunday’s headliner, along with the improving Ooohs and Aaahs. Russian Greek and Magnum Force complete the field.

Trujillo headed to West Coast

After the conclusion of racing here this week, jockey Elvis Trujillo will pack his tack and head to California, where he plans to ride regularly throughout the summer. Trujillo, who rode Dad’z Laugh to victory in last week’s Big Drama Stakes, will be represented by agent Tom Knust on the West Coast, where he is expected to ride regularly for trainer Doug O’Neill.

Trujillo won the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint aboard Maryfield for O’Neill at Monmouth Park in 2007.

“I was going to stay here, but this came up, and I think it’s an opportunity I can’t pass up,” said Trujillo, who is third in the riding standings and was a top-10 rider during the Championship Meet. “They’re going to give me a chance out there, and I think it’s the right thing to do.”