Mandatory Memorial Day Payouts in Rainbow 6, Pick 5, High 5
Trainer Ramsey, Jockey Robles Earn First Maryland Wins Sunday
LAUREL, MD – Historic Pimlico Race Course will close its 11-day Preakness Meet with a special Memorial Day holiday program Monday featuring mandatory payouts in the 20-cent Rainbow 6, 50-cent Late Pick 5 and $1 Jackpot Super High Five wagers.
Post time for the first of nine races is 12:25 p.m.
The Rainbow 6 carryover jackpot grew to $384,473.83 after going unsolved for the eighth consecutive racing day Sunday, when $65,420 was added to a $363,540.61 carryover from Saturday’s program. Multiple tickets were sold with all six winners, each worth $2,093.32.
Last solved for a $3,240.38 payout May 10 on Day 2 of the Preakness Meet, the Rainbow 6 carryover jackpot is paid out only when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. On days when there is no unique ticket, 60 percent of that day’s pool goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners while 40 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool.
However, on mandatory payout days the entire pool is distributed to the bettor or bettors holding tickets with the most winners in the six-race sequence.
Introduced in Maryland April 2, 2015 on opening day of Pimlico’s spring meet, the Rainbow 6’s state-record carryover reached $1,435,080.75 over 27 consecutive racing programs before a mandatory payout of $31,028.08 to multiple ticketholders July 4, 2021.
Sunday’s Rainbow 6 sequence begins in Race 4, a 4 ½-furlong maiden special weight for 2-year-olds where seven of the nine entered are first-time starters including Buoyant, a chestnut son of Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Union Rags from the barn of meet-leading trainer Brittany Russell. John Salzman Jr. will unveil Bird and Grady’s Up in Flames, a Friesan Fire colt that fired a bullet three-furlong work May 21 at Laurel Park. Rapido Rosa was third by less than a length in a similar spot May 4 over a muddy Laurel surface.
Race 5 is a claiming event for 3-year-olds and up which have never won two races scheduled for one mile on the grass that drew 13 entries, two for main track only. The narrow 2-1 program favorite is Blame D Rule Maker, trained by Jorge Duarte Jr. for meet-leading owner Colts Neck Stable. The 4-year-old gelding has not raced since finishing second and third at the distance, beaten a half-length each time, 23 days apart in November. His lone win came at a mile on the Laurel turf last April over older horses.
Action moves back to the main track for Race 6, a six-furlong claiming sprint for maiden 3-year-old fillies. Sippin Time made her first six starts for Hamilton Smith before being turned over to his son, owner-trainer Jason Smith. The daughter of 2015 Preakness (G1) show finisher Divining Rod is trending upward, having run third and second, respectively, in her two races this year. Lightly raced Battle Tested takes a slight drop after running a wide fourth in her March 16 debut at Laurel.
Race 7 is a starter optional claimer for 3-year-olds and up scheduled for five furlongs on the grass. Making his 7-year-old debut for trainer Suzanne Stettinius is 2021 Maryland Million Turf Starter Handicap winner B Determined, who also ran third in the 2022 Find and has been third or better in four of six tries on the Pimlico turf. Stettinius also has 6-year-old Boss Is a Pal, front-running winner sprinting 5 ½ furlongs on the grass April 21 at Laurel in his season debut. Doctor Jeff races first off the claim for Pimlico-based trainer Kieron Magee, who clicks at 26 percent with the move.
Monday’s feature comes in Race 8, a third-level optional claiming allowance for 3-year-olds and up going 1 1/8 miles. Favored on the morning line is the entry of 6-year-old 13-time winner Boss Logic and 7-year-old Magic Michael from trainer Jamie Ness. Magic Michael won the Greenwood Cup (G3) in 2021 and was second in 2022, and most recently was beaten a head while runner-up in Laurel’s 1 1/8-mile Native Dancer April 13. Third in the Native Dancer, Vance Scholars won the 1 3/16-mile Bald Eagle Derby in 2022 at Laurel.
Eleven maidens ages 3, 4 and 5 are entered in the Race 9 finale scheduled for one mile on the grass. Ness, 32 percent first time off the claim, will introduce Ascribe to Maryland after taking the 4-year-old Arrogate colt for $30,000 following five starts in the Midwest, the last three on Turfway Park’s all-weather surface over the winter. Bandoola, by Curlin, adds blinkers in his first race for trainer Arnaud Delacour following three off-the-board finishes at Gulfstream Park. No Surrender will try turf for just the second time having run third or better in four of seven career starts.
The Late Pick Five covers Races 5-9. The Jackpot Super High Five, which occurs in Race 6 every live race day, was hit for a life-changing $303,996.10 payout May 24.
Trainer Ramsey, Jockey Robles Earn First Maryland Wins Sunday
Nolan Ramsey, grandson of multiple Eclipse Award-winning breeder and owner Ken Ramsey, picked up his first win as a trainer in Maryland when 4-year-old gelding Longbranch Lou rolled to a 1 ½-length victory in Race 6 Sunday at historic Pimlico Race Course.
Owned by the elder Ramsey, Longbranch Lou ($5.20) completed one mile over a firm turf course in 1:37.96 in the claiming event for maidens ages 3, 4 and 5, his third career start and first since being claimed for $25,000 out of a runner-up finish Feb. 28 at Tampa Bay Downs.
“It’s a great way to start,” Nolan Ramsey said. “I thought the horse was well-spotted. We had high expectations and it’s nice to show up at a new place, new track, big ship and all that stuff and have the horse show up. It’s a good feeling.”
Ramsey, 27, spent nearly 10 years as the top assistant to prominent trainer Mike Maker, sending out his first starter April 20 at Gulfstream Park where he also recorded his first win with Marshamarshamarsha May 10.
“The base is Gulfstream but we’ll have probably 15 to 20 here as well,” Ramsey said. “Right now I’ve got five. I’ve got five coming up the beginning of the week and probably another five the week after that. We’ll start adding to that as we feel out the waters.”
Longbranch Lou, off as the 8-5 favorite, was Ramsey’s seventh starter. He has horses entered at Parx May 28 and Gulfstream May 30 and June 1.
“My grandfather is obviously a big supporter. The majority of the horses are his, and then I’ve got a handful for some other guys, as well,” he said. “[We’ve got] a lot of 2-year-olds so we’re excited about [them]. We’ll bring some of those up, as well, as we get closer to the races. I’m really looking forward to it.”
Also earning his first Maryland win was seven-pound apprentice jockey Ederik Robles aboard James Connor’s 3-year-old gelding Count Daddy ($14.40) in Sunday’s opener for trainer Kieron Magee. He picked up a second win for Magee with Sheffield Stable’s Ree Nee’s Six ($6.40) in Race 8.
Represented by agent Tom Stift, the 16-year-old native of Puerto Rico made his U.S. debut April 20 at Charles Town and is second with seven wins from 23 mounts (30 percent) at Delaware Park including a four-win day May 16.
Robles had ridden three times previously in Maryland including a second on Albertano May 3 at Laurel Park. He is named in five of eight races on Monday’s Memorial Day holiday program.
Notes: Jockey Jaime Rodriguez doubled Sunday with Popover Gal ($11.60) in Race 3 and Longbranch Lou ($5.20) in Race 6 to take a 10-9 lead in the rider standings over Sheldon Russell, who won Race 2 with Brady Bear ($7.80). Rodriguez is named in six of nine races on Monday’s closing day card, while Russell has mounts in two races … Russell’s wife, Brittany Russell, holds an 8-6 advantage over Kieron Magee for leading trainer. Russell won Sunday with Brady Bear while Magee and apprentice Ederik Robles teamed up to win Race 1 with Count Daddy ($14.40) and Race 8 with Ree Nee’s Six ($6.40) … Brittany Russell’s lone starter Monday comes in Race 4 with Magee having horses entered in Races 5 and 7 … Stonehedge’s Florida homebred Popover Gal, a first-time starter by Khozan, emerged from a three-way photo a nose in front in Race 3, a maiden special weight for 3-year-old fillies. The winning time was 1:13.14 for six furlongs over a fast main track.