Santa Anita’s 19-day autumn meeting begins Friday and entries for the opening-day card were drawn today at The Great Race Place. The theme just may be ‘Something Old, Something New’ in the wagering department. The traditional pick six replaces the jackpot Rainbow 6 and a new all-turf pick three also joins the schedule. The meet culminates with the 40th Breeders’ Cup World Championships on November 3-4.

The pick six will have a $1 minimum and pay out 70% of the pool daily to the tickets with all six winners, while 30% will be returned in consolation payouts for those with the most winners below six. In the event no one picks six on the day, the 70% will create a carryover to the following racing day. The pick six will be the final six races on each day’s program.

The traditional pick six has been a fixture of California racing for decades and went the way of the jackpot-style provision late in 2016. The previous iteration of the traditional pick six carried a $2 minimum, so this season’s $1 minimum will strike a balance between old-school players and the 20-cent minimum of the Rainbow 6. The obvious kicker is that there’s no single-ticket provision in order to cash the pick six jackpot with the return of the traditional format.

"I was a heavy Southern California pick six player when it was first offered about 40 years ago,” said noted Santa Anita handicapper and 1/ST national racing analyst Jeff Siegel. “I gradually scaled back (didn't need a life-changing score, my life had already changed) and then dropped out completely when the Rainbow wager was introduced along with the 20-cent base that virtually eliminated the possibility of a knockout horse. The single ticket concept did nothing for me. I'd rather have a $2 minimum, but a buck is a reasonable compromise given the return to the original wager."

Meanwhile, a new $3 turf pick three will be offered on the final three turf races each day. The higher minimum results in higher payouts and should prove popular with horseplayers as grass races also traditionally have larger field sizes than dirt. The $3 turf pick three took root at Keeneland during its 2021 Fall Meeting.

Santa Anita’s daily wagering menu once again includes the early and late pick four and pick five with a 50-cent minimum. The early pick five has a low 14% takeout. The $1 minimum Golden Hour pick four and $5 minimum Golden Hour double also will be offered daily in conjunction with races at sister track Golden Gate Fields.