Churchill, Gulfstream offer millions in mandatory payouts

Carryovers at Churchill Downs and Gulfstream Park mean seven-figure pools are expected for mandatory payouts of 20-cent Pick 6 jackpots Sunday.

The track record of more than $4 million may tumble at Churchill Downs, where bettors have a $1,413,928 carryover in the Derby City 6 to chase during the 11-race program on closing day of the 43-day spring meet.

DeRosa: 1st leg offers best bet in Churchill Pick 6.

A pool of at least $1.25 million has been estimated for the Rainbow 6 jackpot that must be paid Sunday at Gulfstream Park, where half the sequence from races 5 to 10 are scheduled to be run on the turf.

Churchill Downs has $1,413,928 carryover

The jackpot carryover into Sunday was $1,413,928 at the conclusion of Saturday’s action at Churchill Downs, where the mandatory payout covers races 6-11.

Post time for the first leg is at 3:18 p.m. EDT in the middle of the card that begins at 12:45 p.m. The finale is scheduled for 5:58 p.m.

All monies Sunday will be distributed to ticket holders with the most winners in the six-race series.

Last year there was a $357,208 jackpot carryover on closing day, and $2,057,512 in new money was wagered, more than five times the carryover. The winning sequence paid $131,622.

The Churchill Downs record carryover of $1,694,336 was set Nov. 18, 2005. The following day $4,004,157 of new money was bet into the pool. The $2 Pick 6 that day paid $32,865.

Takeout on the Derby City 6 is 15%, one of the lowest multi-race wager takeout rates in American racing, and costs only 20 cents per combination.

Sunday’s closing-day sequence features 58 entered horses for an average of 9.7 entries per race. It includes race 6 at 3:18 p.m. EDT, the listed $225,000 Bashford Manor for seven 2-year-olds going six furlongs; race 7 at 3:51 p.m., the listed $225,000 Debutante for nine 2-year-old fillies going six furlongs; race 8 at 4:23 p.m., the listed $300,000 Hanshin for eight older horses covering a mile; race 9 at 4:55 p.m., the $175,000 Anchorage Overnight for nine fillies and mares competing over 1 1/8 miles on the turf; race 10 at 5:27 p.m., the listed $175,000 Maxfield for 13 3-year-olds going seven furlongs; and race 11 at 5:58 p.m., a $120,000 maiden test for up to 12 of 15 entered fillies and mares going 1 1/8 miles on the turf.

Gulfstream Park carries over $112,838

The Rainbow 6 wager went unsolved Saturday for the seventh racing day following a mandatory payout that yielded multiple $47,670 payoffs, leaving a carryover pool of $112,838 heading into Sunday’s wagering.

The sequence starts with a non-winners-of-two-lifetime, $8,000 claimer for fillies and mares in race 5 at 2:52 p.m. EDT. Kathleen O’Connell-trained Sky Baby drops in class after holding her own against better. Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained Fully Entitled also drops in class and cuts back from a mile to six furlongs after returning from a long layoff to finish a tiring second.

A seemingly wide-open, optional-claiming allowance for Florida-breds going 7 1/2 furlongs on turf figures to challenge bettors in race 6 at 3:30 p.m. EDT. Mark Casse-trained Bluff, the 5-2 morning-line favorite, drops out of a stakes after winning his 2025 debut at Tampa Bay Downs.

In race 7 at 4:01 p.m. EDT, a 5 1/2-furlong, $12,500 maiden claimer for fillies and mares on Tapeta, José D’Angelo-trained Bubbles Up would be expected to benefit from her recent return from a layoff in which she faded late against much better. R Wins Aren’t Luck drops back to the level where she finished second back-to-back for red-hot trainer Carlos David.

Joseph-trained Bellavinino looms as a solid favorite in race 8 at 4:33 p.m. EDT, a mile starter allowance for 3-year-old fillies on turf. The daughter of Get Stormy drops from back-to-back stakes appearances following a victory at Sunday’s level of competition. David Fawkes-trained We See You looks to rebound from subpar showing in the Martha Washington that followed back-to-back victories.

Lookin for Roses figures to receive considerable support from bettors while making his first start off the claim back by Joseph in race 9 at 5:05 p.m. EDT, a 1 1/16-mile, $8,000 claiming opportunity for 3- and 4-year-olds on Tapeta. D’Angelo-trained Emmett drops in for a tag off even efforts against better competition.

Irideo, who entertained Grade 1 and 2 rivals in Southern California last year, makes his 2025 debut for trainer Ámador Sánchez in Race 10 at 5:35 p.m. EDT, a one-mile, $35,000 claiming race for 3-year-olds and up on turf that drew a deep field of 10. José Gallegos-trained Battle Call is well-placed on the rail to save ground after a pair of solid in-the-money efforts that followed troubled starts. D’Angelo-trained Quereme Pass came up just short in his turf debut and is expected to make a serious bid to go all the way Sunday. Joseph-trained Positive Review is a steady-going horse who could wake up with Sunday’s drop in class.

The Rainbow 6 jackpot pool is paid only when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. On days when there is no unique ticket, 70% of that day’s pool usually goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners while 30% is carried over to the jackpot pool. On mandatory-payout days such as Sunday, the entire Rainbow 6 jackpot pool is paid to the bettor or bettors with the most winners in the wager’s six-race sequence.