Vinny White Shoes could be key in Rainbow 6

Gulfstream Park’s fans will have a temporary diversion mixed in with their usual mission of taking down the Rainbow 6 pool when racing resumes Wednesday at the south Florida track: Todd Pletcher could become just the 10th trainer in North American racing history to hit the 4,000-win mark when he sends out Vinny White Shoes in the 10th of 11 races.

Many bettors will be rooting for Pletcher to achieve the milestone, but not necessarily out of loyalty or admiration. Vinny White Shoes figures as a solid favorite – and therefore a Rainbow 6 single for many – when returning from a tough-luck runner-up finish in his last race.

Owned by a Starlight Racing partnership led by Jack Wolf, Vinny White Shoes was away poorly in a Feb. 4 starter allowance contested under virtually the same conditions as Wednesday’s turf race. Not only that, but the 4-year-old gelding encountered traffic before nearly overcoming every obstacle, losing by a neck to a perfect-trip winner, Boss Man.

Vinny White Shoes is the only Wednesday starter across the country for Pletcher, a 48-year-old Dallas native who is the all-time leading trainer in earnings with more than $311 million.

The $35,000 starter allowance in which Vinny White Shoes will be favored is the second-to-last leg in a Rainbow 6 sequence that spans races 6-11 and has a pool of $3,256,830. Sunday marked the 44th straight racing day that no one had swept the jackpot.

First post Wednesday is 12:35 p.m. Eastern, with race 6 set for 3:05.

The Rainbow 6 jackpot is dispersed only when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. Lacking a solo winner, 70 percent of that day’s pool (following takeout) is paid on tickets with the most winners, with the remainder added to the carryover. Gulfstream has announced that a mandatory payout of the Rainbow 6 will be held March 26.

Here is a brief rundown of the Rainbow 6 races Wednesday:

Race 6: The last-out maiden winners My Dinah Lee and Shiawassee are likely favorites in a deep starter allowance that will compel many players to spread liberally.

Race 7: Hoarder comes favorably drawn in the outside post when taking a big class plunge in his second start off a Mike Maker claim as one of the favorites in this $12,500 “beaten” claimer out of the mile chute.

Race 8: The rail-drawn Zoot Suit is a tepid morning-line favorite in a big field of turf-sprinting maidens that includes the interesting first-timers Saratoga Prime and Letcher.

Race 9: This is textbook Gulfstream, with more than half the field of 10 filly-and-mare turf runners capable of winning. Big N Toasty and Syrisong are among the lukewarm choices.

Race 10: If Vinny White Shoes has another brutal trip or doesn’t run as well, then Felifran and Indian Guide are the most likely upsetters.

Race 11: Giant Storm gets the rail as a potential single when dropping in class for the high-profile connections of owner Zayat Stables, trainer Bill Mott, and jockey Javier Castellano.