Gulfstream Park the ‘Place’ to Be on Player-Friendly Mondays

$1 Players Place Pick 8 Introduced to Wagering Menu

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – Gulfstream Park will be the ‘place’ to be Monday, July 13 for players looking to cash in on multi-race wagers with higher payoffs and lower takeouts.

The Players Place Pick 8, a $1 base wager that requires a bettor to pick a horse that wins or finishes second in each of the final eight races, will be offered each race day beginning Monday. If there is no winning ticket sold, the entire Players Place Pick 8 pool will be carried over to the following Monday. There will be no consolation payoff.

The sequence for Monday’s inaugural Players Place Pick 8 will span Races 2-9.

Brian Nadeau’s Preview of the Place Pick 8: Click here to view

Race 2 – Trainer David Fawkes, who has been on a tear during the current Royal Palm Meet, will be represented in a field of six fillies and mares by Mary Marguerite in this mile never-won-three $10,000 claimer. The 4-year-old daughter of Gift Box has produced five first or second-place finishes on turf or Tapeta in her nine most recent starts. She finished second in her only dirt start. Jose Castro-trained Gullfaxi drops down off an even fourth in her return off a two-month freshening in a mile optional claiming allowance.

Race 3 – This five-furlong $12,500 maiden claimer for fillies and mares on Tapeta may be the most challenging of the sequence for Player Place Pick 8 bettors. Steve Dwoskin-trained Starshi8p Spectacle, a nine-race maiden, finished second in her return to Tapeta last time out. Heather Smullen-trained Facet, who has faced better in her three career starts, flashed speed in her Tapeta debut before fading last time out after producing some solid workouts over the all-weather surface. Juan Arias-trained Nenas Star showed the way into the stretch before fading to third in a much-improved performance in her return to Tapeta.

Race 4 – A field of seven well-matched fillies and mares has been assembled for this mile optional claiming allowance. Patrick Biancone-trained Spicy Princess, who returns from a four-month layoff, finished second behind multiple-stakes winner Sister Troienne in the Sweetest Chant during the Championship Meet. Fausto Gutierrez-trained Show Off, coming off a 2 ½-month freshening, has been first or second in nine of 23 starts. Smullen-trained Bayou Bridget is coming off a third-place finish in the Martha Washington Stakes on Tapeta. Joe Orseno-trained Lindsay Smiles finished second behind Bayou Bridget in a state-bred allowance last time out.

Race 5 – Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse is represented by Complexed in the 12-horse field entered for this 1 1/16-mile never-won-three $10,000 claimer for 3-year-olds and up on Tapeta. The son of Complexity drops to this level where he finished a close-up second two back. Dimanche Gras makes his first start off the claim for trainer Ron Spatz, who is enjoying a solid Royal Palm Meet. The son of Khozan beat cheaper last time following a six-month layoff but has been a consistent in-the-money finisher against better throughout his career. Veteran trainer Jimmy Toner, who is one win away from Win No. 900, is represented by Operation Torch, a steady-running son of War Front who has finished in the money in nine of 15 career starts.

Race 6 – Casse-trained Vermont returns from a promising debut in this five-furlong maiden special weight for 2-year-olds on turf. The son of Vekoma finished third on Tapeta in his debut in which he came up a little short in late stretch. Orseno-trained Lord Henry, a son of Temple City, has been working sharply on Tapeta in preparation for his debut. Jose D’Angelo-trained High Ambition sports a bullet three-furlong breeze on dirt at Palm Meadows in preparation for his debut.

Race 7 – This mile-and-70-yard $10,000 claimer for older horses on Tapeta drew a highly competitive 11-horse field. Fawkes-trained Corta Fuego returns from a photo-finish second-place finish in his first start off the claim. Bettera, who beat Cora Fuego by a neck in last, seeks his third straight victory off the claim by Kent Sweezey. Nick Tomlinson-trained Saratoga Flash, coming off a third-place finish under a $24,000 claiming tag, will break from the far-outside post position, one stall outside Bettera in the starting gate.

Race 8 – Trainer Victor Barboza Jr., whose 97 starters during the Royal Palm Meet have finished first or second 41 times, is represented by two horses in this six-furlong $30,000 claiming race for 3-year-olds and up, both returning from layoffs. R Winchester will make his first start for Barboza two months after breaking his maiden, while Brushfire is slated to make his first start for Barboza since being claimed out of a maiden victory three months ago. Bobby Dibona-trained Sonic Surge drops in for a claiming tag after finishing an even fourth in the Carry Back stakes.

Race 9 – The Players Place Pick 8 sequence closes out with a mile maiden special weight for fillies and mares on turf. A field of nine includes Biancone-trained Elenique, who comes off a two-month freshening since finishing a late-closing third on turf; Kathleen O’Connell-trained Just Brilliant, a daughter of Triple Crown champion Justify who will be equipped with blinkers for her second-start off the $50,000 claim; and Fawkes-trained Warrior Sophie, who stretches out around two turns after finishing fourth in a Tapeta sprint last time out.

The Players Place Pick 8 will be just one of four player-friendly new bets that will be offered on the wagering menu that will have a 15-percent takeout. The Players Pick 3, a $3 base wager linking the last three races, the Players Late Double, a $5 base wager linking the last two races, and the Summer Sweep Pick 5, a $1 retail only, multi-track wager, will also have the lower takeout.

In addition to the new wagers, a mandatory payout of the popular 20-cent Rainbow 6 jackpot pool will be offered each Monday through August 31.