Thoughts on Tuesday's $16,943 Pick 5 carryover at Emerald Downs

A chance for early fireworks in advance of the Independence Day holiday occurs Tuesday evening at Emerald Downs, where a 50-cent Pick 5 carryover of $16,943 awaits bettors willing to sift through the fields in races 5-9.

Here are some thoughts on the sequence, which begins at 10:04 p.m. (EDT).

Race 5

Early favorites #6 BETTER IN LEATHER and #4 CRUZIN IN STYLE both improved off the claim by Jeff Metz, with the former just missing for twice this tag and the latter winning an N2L for $4,000. #2 DIAMONDS DENA should not be ignored having woken up last time on her return to this track, over which she's won eight of 14. A legit mare against better in the not too distant past.

Race 6

Bottom-level starter allowance seems a spread race. #7 MERVEILLEUSE never recovered from a slow start last time. Gets more ground here and efforts against $10,000 types earlier in the meet not bad, relatively speaking. #5 ROCKPORT BIRDIE should sit close to the pace and perhaps gets first run in her first two-turn try of the meet. #4 UNBROKEN CODE prevailed over a next-out winner last time and owns a relatively quick win around two turns at Pleasanton last summer.

Race 7

#3 KOTA COPY ran strongly off the bench to finish a clear second last out, but race was nearly two months ago. #6 BARASSO has lacked punch after stalking in his last two, but willing to forgive the latest on an off track. Lightly-raced #7 BRENNER beat a couple of these two back but didn't quite have his mind on running prior to the break in a tougher starter allowance last time. All-or-nothing type will have pace to chase.

Race 8

#5 GRAND PALAIS couldn't keep pace with starter allowance types last time, but dual winner this meet can bounce back here at the $20,000 level. #4 FREEDOM HILL can improve second time off the layoff for a high-percentage barn.

Race 9

Hard to have complete confidence when dealing with this caliber of horse, but #7 BLACKFORD appears a solid favorite against this field with a repeat of either of his first two starts of the meet.

The ticket:

2,4,6 with 4,5,7 with 3,6,7 with 4,5 with 7 = $27.

Good luck!