Single 6 jackpot disappears on Thanksgiving as numbers player gets lucky
RACE REPLAY IS NOT AVAILABLE
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A sizable Single 6 pool that would have made for an inviting closing-day target for thousands of Churchill Downs bettors Sunday was instead emptied by a Thanksgiving windfall for one remarkably lucky person.
An unidentified man playing online in California hit for a whopping $328,146 on Thursday by using a mere $2 worth of random picks in the Single 6. The winning combination of 6-5-9-3-1-4 was among one of his singular selections at a 20-cent increment.
A Churchill spokesperson described the winning bettor as “a numbers man” who placed the bet through his Twin Spires wagering account and that no irregularities were uncovered. After federal and state taxes, the winning haul was $249,392.
The Single 6 jackpot had been steadily building throughout the 24-day fall meet; into Thursday, the jackpot stood at $179,981. With pool disbursements mandatory for Sunday, closing day, there’s no doubt that hundreds of thousands of dollars would have coming pouring into the Single 6 in pursuit of that so-called “dead money.”
:: Start earning weekly cashback on your wagering today. Click to learn more.
Instead, the jackpot was zeroed out as of Thursday night, meaning the closing-day pool will be a fraction of what it would have been.
The Thursday coup ended with a narrow victory by Ancient Warrior in the last of 11 races. Ancient Warrior, a 13-1 shot ridden by Rafael Bejarano, prevailed in a tight three-way photo and gave Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer his first win in Kentucky this year. Hollendorfer, with Dan Ward as his local assistant, had been 0 for 30 on this circuit in 2020.
Meanwhile, the curtain comes down Sunday on another year of racing at Churchill, where a trio of allowances serve as co-features of an 11-race finale to be contested exclusively on the main track. Churchill canceled all turf racing because of poor course conditions as of Nov. 12.
Race 5 is a $95,000 dash with wide-open conditions for 2-year-olds. Spicy Marg, a sharp last-out maiden winner for Wesley Ward, looms a gate-to-wire threat going these five furlongs as the lone filly in a field of seven.
Race 9 is a $92,000 third-level route for fillies and mares. High Regard, a two-back winner via disqualification, seems to have found a good spot in a field of seven after being scratched twice from recent races by trainer Vicki Oliver, including from the Falls City on Thursday.
Race 10 is probably the deepest of the three allowances. It’s an $87,000 first-level route in which 12 3-year-olds and upward are entered. Excession, part of a Calumet Farm stable coupling, is among the ones to beat after finishing second at this same level three Sundays ago.
Cloudy skies and a high of 55 are in the forecast for Sunday. First post is 1 p.m. Eastern, with the latter portion of the card being run under lights. FS2 will have full televised coverage.