Got another reply. Reached out to Mary Forney of the TOC who I was told knew a lot about Santa Anita, now and then. Here is her replay:
"That is the 16th pole. Makes it 6 and 1/2 furlongs to the wire. The reason they say “about” six and a half is that the gate placement doesn’t allow for our normal run-up distance before the timer kicks in. Not enough room up there to move the gate any farther back. The big yellow ring made it easy to see for hand timing."
Hmmm.
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