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Saturday’s Rainbow 6 Jackpot Estimated at $1.75 Million
3/29/2024
$1M Florida Derby (G1) Featuring Fierceness Anchors Sequence
Guaranteed Pools for Saturday’s Late Multi-Race Wagers
Late Pick 5 – $1 Million, Late Pick 4 – $750,000
Saturday’s First Race Post Time Set for 11:30 AM
Doors Open at 8 A.M. for Dubai World Cup Wagering
Mandatory Rainbow 6 Payout Scheduled for Sunday
HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – The 20-cent Rainbow 6 will have an estimated pool of $1.75 million for Saturday’s $1 million Curlin Florida Derby (G1) presented by Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms at Xalapa program at Gulfstream Park, where the popular multi-race wager went unsolved Friday for the 18th consecutive racing day.
Saturday’s Rainbow 6 pool will begin with a carryover of $695,915.07 from Friday’s program. The Rainbow 6 was last hit for a $35,544.70 mandatory payout March 3.
The Rainbow 6 sequence will span Races 9-14 anchored by the 73rd running of the tradition-rich Florida Derby, which has seen 46 starters go on to win a remarkable 59 Triple Crown races in its tradition-rich history. This year’s edition attracted a field of 11 3-year-olds led by 2023 2-year-old male champion Fierceness, the 8-5 program favorite trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, as well as Feb. 3 Holy Bull (G3) winner Hades.
Repole Stable homebred Fierceness is looking to bounce back from a third-place finish in the Holy Bull the same way he did to cap his championship season with a decisive triumph in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) after running a distant seventh in the Champagne (G1). He drew Post 10 in the 1 1/8-mile Florida Derby; Forte won last year’s Derby from Post 11 for Repole and Pletcher.
First-race post time is set for 11:30 a.m. Silks, Gulfstream’s simulcast facility, will open its doors at 8 a.m. to accommodate wagering from Meydan Racecourse capped by the $12 million Dubai World Cup (G1) featuring $20 million Saudi Cup (G1) winner Senor Buscador and Crupi, respectively second and third in Gulfstream’s Pegasus World Cup (G1) Jan. 27.
The Florida Derby program features 10 stakes, five graded, worth $2.425 million in purses. The all-stakes Rainbow 6 sequence begins in Race 9 with the $125,000 Sir Shackleton for older sprinters going seven furlongs. Long Range Toddy, two-for-four at Gulfstream since joining trainer Victor Barbosa Jr. last summer, is favored at 5-2 off a fourth in the Feb. 24 Gulfstream Park Sprint. Dreaming of Kona, whose two stakes wins include a promoted victory in Gulfstream’s 2023 Mucho Macho Man, looks to snap a seven-race losing streak.
Klaravich Stables, Inc.’s Grade 1-winning millionaire McKulick is entered to launch her 5-year-old campaign in Race 10, the $150,000 Orchid (G3) for fillies and mares 4 and up scheduled for 1 ½ miles on the grass. The Frankel mare has been worse than third just twice in 14 starts, running 12th in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1) Nov. 4 in her most recent start. Pletcher counters with Grade 3 winner Surprisingly, exiting a runner-up finish in the Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf (G2) Jan. 27.
Fiona’s Magic and Into Champagne, respectively first and second separated by a length in the March 2 Davona Dale (G2), renew their rivalry in Race 11, the $250,000 Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2) for 3-year-old fillies. Fiona’s Magic had run second in the Feb. 3 Forward Gal (G3) while Into Champagne, winner of Gulfstream’s Glitter Woman Jan. 7, lost for the first time. Favored at 8-5 is Klaravich homebred Ways and Means, racing for the third time and first since a runner-up finish in the Spinaway (G1) Sept. 3 at Saratoga.
The $125,000 Sand Springs, a 1 1/16-mile turf race for fillies and mares 4 and up, features Grade 1 winner Marketsegmentation, the defending champion that was last seen finishing fourth in the 1 1/8-mile Diana (G1) in mid-July at Saratoga. Pletcher will send out multiple stakes winner Cairo Consort, most recently third in the 1 3/8-mile The Very One (G3) March 2.
A full field of older horses will contest the $150,000 Appleton, a one-mile turf stakes, in Race 13. Pletcher entered the pair of Quality G, riding a two-race win streak into his graded debut, and multiple stakes winner Never Surprised, runner-up in the 2022 Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1). The wide-open field includes four-time stakes winner Big Everest, unraced since capturing the one-mile Artie Schiller in mid-November, and multiple graded-stakes placed Ice Chocolat, most recently third in Gulfstream’s 1 1/16-mile Canadian Turf (G3) March 2.
All eyes will be on Fierceness in the Florida Derby, a race Pletcher has won a record seven times and Fierceness’ jockey, Hall of Famer John Velazquez, has won a record five times. Hades, who beat Fierceness in the Holy Bull, will put his perfect record on the line looking for a fourth straight win. Conquest Warrior will garner plenty of attention after winning both his starts this year over Gulfstream’s main track, including a 1 1/8-mile optional claiming allowance March 1, for Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey.
The Rainbow 6 jackpot is paid out when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. On days when there is no unique ticket, 70 percent of that day’s pool goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners, while 30 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool.
On Saturday’s Florida Derby program, the Late Pick 5 pool will be guaranteed at $1 million while the Late Pick 4 pool will be guaranteed at $750,000. The Late Pick 5 will span Races 10-14, while the Late Pick 4 will span Races 11-14. The Florida Derby will anchor both sequences.
A Rainbow 6 mandatory payout is scheduled for Sunday, the last day of the Championship Meet. Should the Rainbow go unsolved through Saturday’s Florida Derby Day program, the pool is expected to exceed $5 million Sunday.