Rainbow 6 Solved for a $399,546 Jackpot Payoff Sunday
Rainbow 6 Solved for a $399,546 Jackpot Payoff Sunday
Live Racing Returns with 10-Race Program Friday, April 19
Rocket Heat Takes Off to Capture Sunday Feature
LAUREL, MD – For the first time in 31 racing programs, one lucky bettor solved the 20-cent Rainbow 6 for a jackpot payoff of $399,545.94 Sunday at Laurel Park.
Soft Landing ($10), co-owned by Span Investments and trainer Jose Corrales, was one of three horses live to take down the jackpot heading into the ninth-race finale, winning the 5 ½-furlong maiden claimer for fillies and mares to complete the 6-7-6-5-8-2 combination.
The winning ticket was purchased through Maine off-track-betting.
Other winners in the sequence were Private Tutor ($109.80) in the fourth race, Emma’sdiamonddiva ($5.80) in the fifth, Versed ($8) in the sixth, Nyx Warrior ($6.80) in the seventh and Rocket Heat ($6.20) in the eighth.
A total of $67,064 was bet into the popular multi-race wager Sunday, adding to a Maryland state-record carryover of $345,898.33 from Saturday’s program. The Rainbow 6 was last solved for a $5,896.30 payout on Feb. 4.
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.
The previous state record for the largest Pick 6 carryover was $275,322, reached heading into closing day of Pimlico Race Course’s spring meet on June 6, 2015. A mandatory payout that day produced multiple returns of $12,518.28.
The Rainbow 6 begins anew when live racing returns to Laurel on Friday, April 19 spanning Races 5-10. The sequence includes three of five races scheduled over Laurel’s world-class turf course that attracted a total of 54 entries, an average of 10.8 horses per race. Grass races are set to be run over the All Along and Dahlia course layouts.
There will be a carryover of $3,847.19 in the $1 Super Hi-5 for Friday’s opener. First race post time is 1:10 p.m.
On Saturday April 21, Laurel will play host to its Spring Stakes Spectacular program featuring five stakes worth $550,000 in purses led by the $125,000 Federico Tesio for 3-year-olds and $125,000 Weber City Miss for 3-year-old fillies, ‘Win and You’re In’ events for the $1.5 million Preakness Stakes (G1) May 19 and $250,000 Black-Eyed Susan (G2) May 18, respectively, at legendary Pimlico Race Course.
Rocket Heat Takes Off to Capture Sunday Feature
Matt Schera’s Rocket Heat, making his first start for trainer Carlos Martin, broke running from the gate and turned away a bid from Triple Burner down the stretch for a front-running victory in Sunday’s featured eighth race.
Rocket Heat ($6.82), favored at 2-1 in the $50,000 allowance for 3-year-olds and up, ran 5 ½ furlongs in 1:00.94 over a firm Fort Marcy Turf Course. Triple Burner held second with 11-1 long shot Grandiflora closing late for third.
It was the second straight win and ninth in 31 career starts for Rocket Heat, a multiple stakes-placed 6-year-old Latent Heat.
Breaking from Post 6 under winter-spring meet-leading rider Jorge Vargas Jr., Rocket Heat sprinted to the lead and sizzled through a quarter-mile in 22.04 seconds, tracked by American Sailor. Triple Burner picked up the chase after a half in 43.96 but was unable to run down the winner through the stretch.
“He’s quick. If you’re not ready he’s going to leave you at the gate,” Vargas said. “They told me to go to the lead and try to relax him but he kept going. He’s a good horse.”
Notes: Jockeys J.D. Acosta and apprentice Wes Hamilton each had two-win days Sunday. Acosta was first Vente to Go ($5) in the first race and Private Tutor ($109.80) in the fourth, while Hamilton scored on Grand Slam ($3.40) in the second and Love in Excess ($3.40) in the third.
