Highlighted by an enhanced Pick Six bet that will offer a “Single Ticket Jackpot” that could produce a seven-figure payout, Del Mar will present a wide range of wagering options to fans with the start of its 2016 fall race meeting on Friday, November 11.
The third “Bing Crosby Season” will see the seaside track provide 14 different wagering options throughout the 15-day run that goes through Sunday, December 4. The betting menu extends from single-horse-single-race bets like the classic Win, Place and Show, all the way to five- and six-horse combinations that project out from single- to multi-race options.
After the opening Friday-Saturday-Sunday weekend, Del Mar will race on a Thursday-through-Sunday basis for the balance of the meet.
The “enhanced” Pick Six has a new twist on the popular wager that requires the picking of the winners of the final six races of each day’s program. As per usual, 70% of the Pick Six pool will be paid out to the day’s winner or winners. But the remaining 30% will be divided in half with one portion going to the afternoon’s consolation tickets, while the other 15% will be carried forward until there is a lone winning ticket at which time that day’s total Pick Six pool – along with the complete carryover pool – is paid to that one lucky winner.
In the scenario where there has been no single Pick Six ticket holder throughout the meet, the entire “Single Ticket Jackpot” pool would be put in the closing-day Pick Six pool and paid out to all winning tickets.
Del Mar officials believe the new Pick Six format will reinvigorate interest in the $2 bet and provide more opportunities to ramp up the major buzz among racing fans that a large Pick Six pool ensures.
The shore track also will continue to feature its “now” bet – the .50¢ Pick Four – which has evolved into the sport’s leading exotic wager. The Pick Four, which requires selecting the winners of each of the final four races on a day’s card, carries an added incentive of guaranteed pools going in – namely a minimum of $200,000 on Thursdays and Fridays and $400,000 on Saturdays and Sundays.
Other exotic bets that will be offered on a daily basis are the .50¢ Player’s Pick Five on the day’s first five races (offering a reduced takeout rate of 14%) and the $1 Super High Five wager (requiring the picking – in order – of the first five finishers in a race) presented on the day’s final event.
The full array of Del Mar bets is as follows: $2 Win, Place and Show; $1 Exacta; $2 Quinella; .50¢ Trifecta; $2 rolling Doubles; $1 rolling Pick Threes; $1 Superfecta (.10¢ minimum); $1 Place Pick All; $1 Super High Five; $2 Pick Six (with “Single Ticket Jackpot” included); .50¢ Player’s Pick Five, and .50¢ Pick Four.
For its opening weekend, Del Mar will present nine-race cards on all three days. Then for the balance of the meet it will offer eight races on weekdays and nine on weekends. First post daily will be 12:30 p.m. for all days with one exception – the Thanksgiving Day program (Thursday, November 24) when the day’s initial race goes off at 11 a.m. and its last at approximately 2:30 p.m., leaving plenty of time for fans to get home for turkey dinners.
Opening Day this season is also Veterans Day and the track is working in conjunction with various veterans’ organizations to put on a colorful day and patriotic salute to the military, both active and veterans. Further information about the afternoon can be found at delmarracing.com/vetsalute and http://www.calegionpost416.org/.