Southern California man wins $1 million in horse race-themed lottery game

A lottery player in Orange County struck it rich in one of the California Lottery’s lesser-known games.

Andrew Lechkobit purchased a Daily Derby ticket at a liquor store in Seal Beach and managed to win more than $1 million in the horse racing-themed lottery game.

The Daily Derby is a spin on horse racing, with players picking three fictional horses to finish at the top of the podium in a simulated race.

Lechkobit correctly picked “Gold Rush” to finish in first place, “Big Ben” in second and “Lucky Charms” in third. His ticket also included the winning time of 1:41.89. 

In total, Lechkobit won $1,025,973 in the Daily Derby game, which he purchased at Marina Liquor Market in the 400 block of Marina Drive in Seal Beach. He said the equine-inspired lotto game is his favorite of all the California Lottery’s many games.

“I am very grateful for winning. I play the Lottery often,” Lechkobit told the California Lottery. “I play Daily Derby most often. I love it!”

Daily Derby tickets are $2 each, and the simulated races take place every day at 6:30 p.m. Players can choose among 12 fictional horses in each race, as well as make a prediction on the winning horse’s time.

Lechkobit is the latest Southern California lottery player to hit a big jackpot.

Jay Inkhothavong won $2 million on a scratcher purchased in the Chinatown neighborhood of Los Angeles.

An $82 million Super Lotto Plus ticket was sold over the weekend in Victorville, and a jackpot-winning Powerball ticket worth more than $1 billion was purchased in Los Angeles last month. The owners of those two tickets have not yet come forward.

Last November, Edwin Castro came forward to claim the historic $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot. Castro purchased the ticket in Altadena. It was the largest Powerball jackpot ever recorded.