Bettor Hits the Pick Nine and Wins Record $1.9 Million at Santa Anita

One ticket had all the winning horses Saturday, resulting in a Pick Nine payoff of $1,906,491.90, which set a parimutuel record in California and is believed to have broken all records in the United States.

The holder of the ticket did not appear to collect the payoff by the time the track had closed. With Santa Anita required by the federal government to withhold 20% of the payoff, the ticket is worth a net total of more than $1.5 million.

The winner had to survive a stewards’ inquiry in the ninth race after Bedouin, a 13-1 long shot, finished ahead of Tommy Thoms. After reviewing a televised rerun of the race, the stewards allowed Bedouin’s win to stand.

Only three favorites--Mufti in the third race, Full Honor in the fifth and Halo Folks in the seventh--were among Saturday’s nine winners.

The Pick Nine, which is a minimum $1 bet, had not been hit in 14 previous days at Santa Anita. The pool totaled more than $1.3 million going into Saturday, and $674,184 was added to it by the 42,605 fans who attended.

The previous record payoff in California was the $1.1 million ticket a Santa Rosa man cashed on a Pick Six bet at Bay Meadows last December. Earlier this season, at least two bettors shared a $921,888.20 Pick Nine ticket at Santa Anita.

Because there is no consolation payoff for the Pick Nine, another bettor reportedly picked the first eight winners Saturday but collected nothing when his ninth-race choice, Disclaim, finished seventh. In the Pick Six, there are consolation winners besides the top payoff.