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Downey Man Picks 7 Winners at Santa Anita for $388,289 Payoff

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Several longshot winners spoiled the chances of many Pick Nine players at Santa Anita Friday, but a Downey man who correctly handicapped seven of the nine races on a $128 ticket went away with a $388,289 payoff.

Lou Dallmeier had four of the five winning combinations of seven horses, and each combination was worth $92,452.60. He also won several consolation payoffs, bringing the total return on his wagers to $390,775. The person holding the remaining ticket with seven winners did not cash it Friday.

The $501,187 carryover after Thursday’s racing program forced a mandatory payout Friday. That lured 37,949 fans to the track and 8,259 to inter-track wagering sites Friday, when $511,999 was wagered on the Pick Nine. Because no one had all nine winners, which would have required a full payout of the net pool, $250,000 was reserved in the carryover for today.

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Dallmeier selected the winners of all but the fifth and ninth races on his ticket, using no more than two horses in any race and single picks in the fourth, seventh and eighth races. He missed on two picks in the fifth and two in the ninth, leaving him with four different combinations of seven winners.

Dallmeier was certain he was in good shape to cash a big ticket after his lone pick in the seventh race, $49.80 longshot Belle Poitrine, came in. He also had the $13.80 winner of the second race, Bettor Roger; the $19.20 winner of the sixth, Sassy Slew, and the $12.20 winner of the eighth, Illumineux.

“I handicapped for about two hours at a restaurant Friday morning,” said Dallmeier, who admitted having difficulty finding a copy of the Daily Racing Form because of interest in the Pick Nine. “I picked the horses, but as I watched the races, I realized my longshots were all ridden by top jockeys--Patrick Valenzuela, Eddie Delahoussaye and Gary Stevens. That didn’t hurt my chances. But mainly it was just 30 years of handicapping experience coming through.”

Dallmeier recently left his job with Rockwell International to go into multilevel marketing, or he would have been working Friday and probably would have missed his big day at the track.

“I used to live at the track for about 20 years, but I haven’t been coming much lately,” he said. “This is only the third time this season. I just came for the Pick Nine. I didn’t come for the free wallets (being given away with each Friday admission).”

In addition to his big score in the Pick Nine, Dallmeier used essentially the same horses to win three Pick Six payoffs of $4,709.20 each and a Daily Triple worth $8,322.60 on a $6 bet.

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