Santa Anita Pick Six Carryover Tops $3.9M

A two-day Pick Six carryover of $751,394 ballooned to a total pool of $3,932,211 Wednesday at Santa Anita, resulting in a payoff of $1,258,755.40.

There were two winning tickets, one purchased at Sam Houston racetrack in Texas and the other bought through the Gulfstream Park hub in Florida.

Santa Anita's Pick Six record pool was $7,302,848, including a three-day carryover, reached on March 3, 2004.

Carded as the seventh race, the $81,450 Thunder Road Handicap at one mile on the turf was taken by Senor Swinger who, at odds of 7-1, was able to prevail by a diminishing head over the unlucky 3-1 favorite Terroplane.

Ridden by Victor Espinoza and trained by Bob Baffert, Senor Swinger had been idle since Oct. 1.

"His best races have come at Churchill Downs," said Baffert. "He's been training fantastic, but he'd never won here in Southern California."

Espinoza rode Senor Swinger in a race for the first time, but he was aboard for a morning work over the Santa Anita turf on Jan. 25

Owned by Robert and Beverly Lewis, of Newport Beach, Ca., the 6-year-old Kentucky-bred son of El Prado was timed in 1:34, winning for the tenth time in 29 starts. The winner's share of $48,870 boosted his career earnings to $303,065.

Senor Swinger paid $17.60, $7.20, and $4.40. Terroplane, who wasn't quite able to overcome major traffic trouble through the stretch run under Garrett Gomez, paid $4.60 and $2.80. Toasted, ridden by Jose Valdivia Jr., was a half-length behind in third and paid $3.40.

An on-track crowd at Santa Anita of 5,610 wagered $2,233,752, contributing to a total handle of $11,610,740.

(Chart, Equibase)