Rainbow 6 Carryover Jackpot Swells to $314,617 for Saturday
Rainbow 6 Carryover Jackpot Swells to $314,617 for Saturday
Private Terms Winner V. I. P. Code Sharp in Friday Breeze for Tesio
LAUREL, MD – The 20-cent Rainbow 6 went unsolved for the 29th consecutive live program Friday at Laurel Park, pushing the Maryland state-record jackpot carryover to $314,617.45 for Saturday’s 10-race card that marks the return of grass racing over Laurel’s world-class turf course.
A total of $58,929 was bet into the popular multi-race wager Friday, adding to a carryover of $295,762.95 from the last live program Sunday, April 8. Multiple tickets will all six winners each returned $52.34.
The carryover jackpot is only paid out 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.
No single bettor has taken down Laurel’s Rainbow 6 since it was solved for a $5,896.30 payout on Feb. 4.
Saturday’s Rainbow 6 spans races 5-10 and includes two of three races scheduled for the grass – a $40,000 maiden special weight for 3-year olds and up on the Fort Marcy Turf Course in Race 5 and an $18,000 claimer for 3-year-olds and up over the Kelso Turf Course layout in Race 7, both at 1 1/16 miles.
Rounding out the scheduled grass races is Race 3, a $22,000 claiming event for 3-year-olds and up at 1 1/16 miles over the Kelso layout.
There will also be a carryover of $743.86 in the $1 Super Hi-5 for Saturday’s opener. First race post time is 1:10 p.m.
Private Terms Winner V. I. P. Code Sharp in Friday Breeze for Tesio
Everest Stables’ 3-year-old homebred V. I. P. Code returned to the work tab Friday morning for the first time since his 36-1 upset victory in the Private Terms Stakes March 17 with a sharp half-mile breeze in 47.20 seconds over Laurel’s main track.
Video of V. I. P. Code work Friday: click here to watch.
A Maryland-bred son of multiple Grade 1 winner City Zip, V. I. P. Code galloped out five furlongs in 59 seconds under regular rider Carlos Quinones in the colt’s lone work for his next scheduled start in the $125,000 Federico Tesio April 21 at Laurel. The half-mile time was the fastest of 38 horses at the distance.
“It was a really nice work – a lot better than I was expecting. Maybe what you hope for at night when you’re dreaming about it,” Schoenthal said. “I wanted Carlos to let him just go an easy half-mile, let him stretch his legs, just keep the horse sane and happy and blow out his lungs a little bit. I told Carlos, ‘Just let him do it on his own, what he wants to do.’ I was thinking he’d go 49 and change for 50. I was really pleased to see it.”
The 1 1/16-mile Private Terms was the third win with two seconds and two thirds from nine starts for V. I. P. Code, beating a field that included multiple stakes winners Still Having Fun, the betting favorite, and Whirlin Curlin. All three are among 37 sophomores nominated to the Tesio.
For the third straight year, the 1 1/8-mile Tesio is a ‘Win and You’re In’ race for Triple Crown-nominated horses such as V. I. P. Code to the $1.5 million Preakness Stakes (G1), the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown, Saturday May 19 at legendary Pimlico Race Course.
Schoenthal continues to marvel at the progression of V. I. P. Code, who ran third in the Frank Whiteley Jr. Jan. 27 and fifth in the Miracle Wood Feb. 17, the first two of four races in Laurel’s series for 3-year-olds.
“Horses, when they’re feeling good and they’re happy and they’re healthy, they’re going to show you that out on the racetrack,” Schoenthal said. “[This work] just tells me that he’s doing all the good right now. He’s doing better than he’s been doing in a long time. I think he’s going to move forward again.”
Notes: Jockey Edwin Gonzalez and apprentice Weston Hamilton each rode two winners Friday. Gonzalez was first with Henry the King ($3) in the second race and Cannon’s Roar ($3.40) in the fourth, while Hamilton scored on Joyful Noise ($4.40) in the third and Party Rock ($8.80) in the ninth. Trainer Cal Lynch saddled a pair of winners with Treetop Flyer ($2.60) in the fifth and Belfour ($6.40) in the seventh.
