DEL MAR -- They came and bet. And bet some more. Then they bet even more.
Pick Six fever was rampant at Del Mar on Saturday. Fueled by a three-day carryover of nearly $1.6 million, bettors put in another $5 million to make the total pool more than $6.6 million.
The only thing bettors didn't do was break Del Mar's one-day record wagered on the Pick Six. That was missed by a scant $4,315.
If only one ticket had picked the final winners on the card, the owner would have collected $4.4 million. Instead, with no real long shots in the winner's circle, 124 tickets won $35,553.40 each.
Del Mar's total handle for the day was $21.3 million -- the eighth highest in track history. That's up from $16.9 million on a corresponding day a year ago.
On the track, the story was Tell a Kelly's victory in the Grade I Debutante, the 2-year-old filly championship of the meet.
Trained by John Sadler, Tell a Kelly ($11.20) destroyed a field of 10, beating runner-up and 5-2 race favorite Wickedly Perfect by 4 1/2 lengths.
It was the third race of the seven-week meet for Tell a Kelly. Sadler had some reservations about the workload, but Tell a Kelly put them all to rest with the victory.
"We were asking a lot of her. ..." Sadler said, "But Stardom Bound did it a couple years ago, so we gave it a try."
Tell a Kelly finished fifth in her career debut on July 25 and then came back to score her maiden victory on Aug. 15, which set her up nicely for Saturday.
"The first race she ran here she was pretty green but showed a lot of determination," Sadler said. "The second time she caught a heavy favorite and was much better and won."
And in a wide open race, Sadler gave jockey Alonso Quinonez specific instructions.
"(He) told me to warm her up a little bit, but to keep her relaxed," said Quinonez. "He said she'd have more energy for the race if I did that."
But when the gates opened, Tell a Kelly was at the back of the field.
"I was hoping there would be a good pace because she likes to ease back and settle," Sadler said.
Quinonez let Sorrento Stakes winner Wickedly Perfect run through fractions of 22.11 seconds and 44.96 before making his move.
"She broke well, and I could tell they were going very, very fast up there," Quinonez said. "I just let her settle and then started looking for my spots. I didn't want to get caught in behind some horse that was stopping. I wanted to go with horses that were going."
Quinonez weaved through traffic to gain the upper hand in the stretch and pull away.
"I asked her and she exploded," Quinonez said.
Rafael Bejarano, on runner-up Wickedly Perfect, couldn't believe his eyes.
"I didn't expect to be on the lead," he said, "but nobody was going. My filly was relaxed up there and she was running well. She ran well at the end, too.
"It was just that the winner went by me so easy I couldn't believe it. She was best."
Tell a Kelly hit the finish line in 1:23.05 for the seven furlongs on the Polytrack.
Sadler said the daughter of Tapit would get a short rest before running in the Oak Leaf Stakes at Hollywood Park then heading to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies race at Churchill Downs in November.
Stormy victory
Tropic Storm ($8.60) was very impressive in winning the $83,325 Windy Sands Handicap for West Point Thoroughbreds.
Tropic Storm, ridden by David Flores and trained by Craig Dollase, took the lead out of the gate and never trailed.
The 6-year-old gelding ran the one mile on the Polytrack in 1:35.64, just missing the track record of 1:35.37.
Contact staff writer Jeff Nahill at 760-740-3550.
