Gulfstream Rainbow 6 At $1.8 Million - And How It Got There

By Jim Freer and Barry Unterbrink
The Rainbow 6 carryover will be almost $1.8 million at Gulfstream Park on Friday.

First post is 12:35 p.m. for the 11-race card. The Rainbow 6 wager is on races six to 11, with the sequence starting at around 3:05 p.m.

The precise carryover figure is $1,793,477. Gulfstream pays out the carryover only on days when there is just one ticket with the winning horses in all six Rainbow 6 races.

Thursday was the 32nd straight race day when that didn't happen. 

So, per its formula (details below), Gulfstream paid out $5,987.10 to each of the multiple tickets with all six winners.  By our calculations, there were 32 such tickets on the Rainbow 6. The wager is a minimum 20 cent per combination - only bet in which multiple horses can be used in each race.

Daily Pools
Amid the carryover's growth, Thursday was the 11th straight day when betting on the Rainbow 6 exceeded $300,000. 

The carryover is headed  toward being  one of the largest in the six-years  of the Rainbow 6.

Going into Thursday's card, the carryover was $1,710,957.  Bettors added $343,950 to the Rainbow 6 pool.

Following the 20 percent takeout, Gulfstream divided 56 percent of the day's bet among the winning tickets.  It put the remaining 24 percent, $82,520, into the carryover - growing it to $1,793,477 for Friday.

Field Sizes
On Thursday, there were 50 starters in the six Rainbow 6 races.

Our review of Equibase charts shows that was tied for the fourth lowest number of starters through the 58 race days of the current Gulfstream Championship meet.  Thursday's number was the meet's lowest for a day when all of the Rainbow 6 scheduled-for-turf races stayed on that surface.

Do relatively small fields enhance the chances for  an individual or team, to hit the Rainbow 6?
 
Very often, yes. Thursday's 32 winners was the 12th highest number on the 32 race days without a jackpot winner.

Of yesterday's six winners, only one was at double-digit odds.  That was  Arch Leader (13-1) in the ninth race.

The other five winners were all 5-1 or lower, including two favorites. 

Friday's Rainbow 6 races have a total of 64 entrants, including Main Track Only and Also Eligibles. Four races are claimers, one is an optional claimer and one is a maiden special weight for 4-year-olds and up.

The seventh, eighth and 11th races are scheduled for turf. Clear skies are forecast--meaning they will stay on that surface. Good luck in handicapping.

It is likely that $400,000 or more will be bet on the  Rainbow 6 on Friday. 

Four of the races have ten or more entrants, and will be hard to handicap. So there's a good chance that the carryover will extend into Saturday's card.

Fountain of Youth Then, some real fun will be had and probably with huge wagering.

Saturday is Fountain of Youth day with that Grade 2 Kentucky Derby prep and seven other stakes races on the 13-race card.

We expect that all-sources handle will be $20 million or more with as much as $1 million on the Rainbow 6.

The Fountain of Youth is the 12th race, and second last leg of the Rainbow 6. Three other stakes races are in the Rainbow 6.

The Fountain of Youth has just six entrants, headed by Mohaymen who is unbeaten in four starts and was the dominant winner of the Holy Bull (Grade 2) at Gulfstream on Jan. 30.

On most days, most bettors except whale-types would single out Mohaymen (photo on right), who is trained by Kiaran McLaughlin.

But our take is that Saturday will be a day for team bets and going deep.

For many the equivalent of a "single" might be using Mohaymen with the Todd Pletcher-trained Zulu, undefeated in two starts.

Or might the 1-1/16 mile Fountain of Youth be stolen by the speedy Awesome Banner, unbeaten in three starts and trained by Stan Gold?

On Saturday morning, we'll have some thoughts about the Fountain of Youth and the other Rainbow 6 races - even if someone takes down the jackpot and carryover on Friday.


How It Works

The Rainbow 6 is a 20-cent per combination only bet. with multiple horses permitted in each race. For example, a ticket with two horses in each race has 64 combinations and costs $12.80.

Gulfstream pays out the full Rainbow 6 pool of the day’s bets (minus the 20 percent takeout) plus the carryover only on days when there is just one ticket with all six winners.

On other days Gulfstream divides 70 percent of the day’s bets (minus the takeout) among those bettors holding tickets with the most winners, while 30 percent (minus takeout) is added to the carryover.

The most recent day with a single Rainbow 6 winner was Jan. 13, when it was hit for $76,799.38.