Santa Anita sees higher handle from $1 pick six

The $1 pick six, relaunched at Santa Anita at the start of the current autumn meeting on Sept. 29, generated higher handle for the first seven racing days of the season than the 20-cent Rainbow pick six in the corresponding period in 2022.

After seven days of racing, the $1 pick six had a handle of $1,374,729 compared to $1,257,027 for the Rainbow pick six.

The year-to-year comparison will change in favor of the old 20-cent Rainbow pick six this weekend. Last year on Saturday, Oct. 15, the Rainbow pick six drew a pool of $2,039,220 on a day with a mandatory payout.

:: Get ready for Santa Anita racing with DRF PPs, Clocker Reports, Picks, and more. Shop Now.

There are no mandatory payouts with the current $1 pick six, until the closing day of the season on Nov. 4.

Track general manager described the $1 pick six as being “very well-received” by bettors this fall. He said the track will offer the bet again during the winter-spring meeting that begins on Dec. 26.

The Rainbow pick six had a format in which a portion of the pool was paid only if there was a single winning ticket or on days with mandatory payouts.

Through Monday, there have been no carryovers in the $1 pick six. Payoffs have ranged from $471 to 207 tickets on Oct. 7 to a single ticket worth $69,819 on Monday.

Pools for the $1 pick six have ranged from $116,218 on Oct. 6 to $297,826 on Sept. 30. The highest pool for the 20-cent Rainbow pick six in the first seven days of the 2022 autumn meeting was $226,968 on Oct. 2.

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.