For the first time, Del Mar Thoroughbred Club will present a $1-million guarantee to any single-ticket holder who hits the track’s popular Pick Six on its Opening Day, Friday, July 21.

It is likely that the seaside track will be conducting 10 races on its first program, meaning the Pick Six will be offered on races five to 10. The Pick Six wager can cost as little as 20 cents.

In a potential Opening Day scenario where a horse player would hold the lone ticket on the Pick Six that pays, say $300,000, that afternoon, the track shortly thereafter would write him/her an additional check for $700,000 to make the payoff a cool $1 million.

“The Pick Six is one of our players’ favorites,” said Del Mar’s director of mutuels Bill Navarro. “Our special Opening Day enhancement is meant to put an exclamation point on the fact that the bet can be a life changer. We want to get the buzz for it started early.”

Besides the Opening Day special arrangement, track officials note that there will be multiple other days during the meet where a “mandatory payout” will be in effect for the Pick Six. Those additional dates will be announced after the track is up and running and into its 84th summer season.

Del Mar’s record Pick Six pool was $10,751,768, which occurred on Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021. Its highest Pick Six payout is $2,100,017, which happened on Aug. 1, 2004, when there was a single-ticket winner.

First post on Opening Day is 2 p.m. The track’s eight-week season runs through Sunday, Sept. 10.

(Editor’s Note: Del Mar’s Pick Six is a jackpot Pick Six. Winning tickets with six correct selections will share in 70% of the daily net pool, and 100% of the carryover. 30% of the daily net pool will be carried into a jackpot pool that will be paid, along with the day’s carryover pool, in the event there is a single winning ticket. If there is a single winning pick-six ticket then 100% of the jackpot pool and pick-six pool, including any natural carryover pool, will be paid to the sole winner. A single ticket is defined as a unique wager at the minimum wager amount.)