Fair Grounds: Horses to single in the $9,039 Pick 6 carryover

This week’s racing action at Fair Grounds wraps up on Sunday with an enticing $9,039 non-jackpot carryover up for grabs in the $1 Pick 6.

The sequence gets underway in Race 3 at 3:15 p.m. ET. Planning to play along? We’ll help you get started with a coupled of suggested singles, one favored and one a midrange longshot:

Race 4: $50,000 Maiden Claiming (1 1/16 miles): #5 Green Beans (9-2)

In a race containing very little speed on paper, Green Beans offers appeal while stepping up in class and distance. On Jan. 7 at Fair Grounds, Green Beans ran second in a $40,000-$30,000 maiden claimer sprinting six furlongs, beaten only a head after carving out the pace.

This effort produced a respectable 79 Brisnet Speed rating, stamping Green Beans as the second-fastest horse in Sunday’s field behind #2 Escapologist (3-1), who boasts figures of 85 and 80. But Escapologist is a deep closer who figures to be compromised by a slow pace on Sunday. In contrast, Green Beans seems destined to be the beneficiary of that slow pace, likely escaping on an uncontested lead.

Stretching out from six furlongs to 1 1/16 miles is an obvious question mark, but Green Beans has the pedigree to handle longer distances. Sire American Freedom won the 1 1/16-mile Iowa Derby (G3) and placed second in the 1 1/8-mile Haskell (G1) and 1 1/4-mile Travers (G1), while dam Green Jeans has previously foaled 1 1/8-mile Philip H. Iselin (G3) winner Just Call Kenny and 2 1/8-mile Peapack Hurdle S. winner Green Velvet.

In short, Green Beans is perfectly positioned for success on Sunday, stamping the three-year-old gelding as a nice-priced single possibility.

Race 5: $50,000 Allowance Optional Claiming (six furlongs): #6 Pro Oxidant (9-5)

Pro Oxidant has shown flashes of talent over the course of four starts. He trounced a seven-furlong maiden special weight at Churchill Downs by seven lengths and recently returned to winning form in a $17,500 allowance optional claimer at Fair Grounds, nabbing the six-furlong sprint with a hefty 104 Brisnet Speed rating.

Pro Oxidant is facing only five rivals on Sunday, and none has posted a Brisnet Speed rating higher than 97. A repeat of his last effort should send Pro Oxidant to the winner’s circle for the hot jockey/trainer duo of Corey Lanerie and Eddie Kenneally, who have gone 2-for-7 (29%) together over the last two months.

Good luck!