Aqueduct: A single for the $72,394 Pick 6 carryover

No one hit the $1 Pick 6 on Saturday at Aqueduct, triggering an enticing non-jackpot carryover worth $72,394 for Sunday’s card.

The sequence gets underway in Race 3 (post time 2:23 p.m. ET), and constructing a winning ticket shouldn’t be especially difficult. The six races attracted only 41 entries (averaging about 6.8 per race), which works out to 98,784 possible outcomes—a remarkably low number for a Pick 6. It’s a budget-friendly sequence, that’s for sure.

We can reduce the complexity (and potential ticket costs) even further by singling #1 Camera (2-1) in Race 5, a one-mile maiden special weight for three-year-old fillies. Sold for $1.05 million as a yearling, Camera disappointed in her debut sprinting six furlongs at Saratoga last summer, finishing ninth by a wide margin. But she fared much better in a 6 1/2-furlong maiden special weight on March 9 at Tampa Bay Downs.

Making her return from a 7 1/2-month layoff, Camera squared off against 11 rivals and settled just behind hot fractions of :22.07 and :44.72 before rallying to lead at the eighth pole. She fought on gamely down the homestretch, but ultimately settled for third place, beaten a head and a neck.

That effort yielded an 82 Brisnet Speed rating, the highest number in Sunday’s field, and the form was flattered when runner-up Qualificata returned to dominate her next start against similar competition by 8 3/4 lengths. Like Camera, Qualificata raced closed to the pace at Tampa before succumbing in the final yards to the deep-closing winner Very Practical.

Camera figures to encounter a softer pace while stretching out over one mile, setting the stage for a career-best performance. As a daughter of two-time Horse of the Year Curlin out of a mare by Flatter, she has the pedigree to shine over route distances for trainer Todd Pletcher, a 20% winner with horses running long for the first time and a 26% winner with horses running back for the second time following a layoff.

Cementing Camera as the horse to beat is the presence of jockey Kendrick Carmouche, who has gone 9-for-22 (41%) teaming up with Pletcher over the last two months. For all these reasons, Camera is a viable single to build Pick 6 tickets around.

Good luck!