Bettors hit Pick 6 bonanza

Two Pick 6 players betting Del Mar hit the mother lode Saturday, cashing the two winning tickets worth $356,909 apiece.

Incredibly, the two horseplayers bet tiny $12 and $8 tickets. Just as amazing, both singled Race 7, won by 43-1 long shot Zardana, who paid $89.60.

The $12 ticket was bet over the TVG account wagering system by "Tony from Petaluma." He was later interviewed on TVG. Tony said his eyesight isn't very good, which hinders his handicapping.

He gleans information from listening to horse racing commentators on TV and radio. He's also big on jockey-trainer combinations with the correct assumption that trainers have "go-to" riders that they rely upon.

The $8 winner was purchased at the Cannery race book in North Las Vegas. Race and sports book manager Kevin Klein said the horseplayer, who asked to remain anonymous, is a regular at the casino.

Our anonymous friend must have had a lucky charm in his pocket. In the final Pick 6 race, he left out the favorite and thus was alive with two long-shot horses. One of the two, Silent Smoke, was scratched at the starting gate. By rule that part of the wager transferred to the post-time betting favorite Improvising Gal, a horse he had intentionally left out.

You guessed it. Improvising Gal rallied to dead heat for the win. That scratch meant the difference between winning two consolation payouts worth $2,319 or the $356,909.

Both horseplayers insisted they were not part of betting syndicates. Syndicates are bettors who pool their money so they can bet hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars chasing large Pick 6 carryovers. They were average Joes like you and me.

Personally, I'm not a big Pick 6 player. I will play when there are nice carryovers. Even then I'll rarely bet more than a $32 ticket, using two singles and two horses in each of the other four races. If it's meant to be, I'll hit one.

This also shows how the Pick 6 wager is a key arsenal to horseplayers and the racetracks. It gives us a shot at turning a small play into a large score. For tracks, it's an important marketing and business tool. Pick 6 carryovers increase fan interest and overall wagering handle.

So who can blame racing secretaries, such as Martin Panza at Hollywood Park or P.J. Campo at Saratoga, who say they put the six toughest races on the card into the Pick 6 to try to create carryovers? They would be dummies not to.

Richard Eng's horse racing column is published Thursday. He can be reached rich_eng@hotmail.com.