Santa Anita to expand super high five betting

Santa Anita will offer a rolling $1 super high five wager during the upcoming winter-spring meeting on fields of eight or more runners, the track announced last week.

Currently, the bet is offered on only the final race of the day at California tracks. Under the new plan, which will be enacted opening day, Dec. 26, the super high five will be offered on all races with at least eight runners.

If there is not a winning ticket, there will be a carryover into the next race with eight or more runners.

In the past, the bet has had mixed success when offered on the last race. In the final four days of the Santa Anita autumn meeting in late October, pools ranged from $18,883 on Oct. 26 to $49,073 on the final day, one with a mandatory payout.

When carryovers have occurred from one day to the next, the pools have often exceeded $100,000, and some have been close to $200,000.

:: Save on PPs, digital subscriptions, and more!

Santa Anita will offer two 50-cent pick five wagers during the meeting on the first five races and the final five races, with varying takeout rates. The first pick five will have a promotional takeout of 14 percent, but the final pick five will have a takeout of 23.68 percent, which is standard for wagers involving three or more horses in California.

Tim Ritvo, chief operating officer of The Stronach Group, the track’s parent company, said in an email last week that any carryovers in the pick five will extend to the next day’s corresponding bet. For example, a carryover into the late pick five would go forward to the next racing day’s late pick five.

An additional pick five will make for a crowded betting menu for multi-race wagers. The track will offer 50-cent pick four bets on the second through fifth races, and the final four races. A $2 pick six, with a single-ticket jackpot format, will be offered on the final pick six.

There will be $2 rolling doubles through the programs.