Fair Grounds: Picks for the $1,239 Pick 6, $200 Feeder tournament

A $200 feeder tournament on TwinSpires.com and a $1,239 Pick 6 carryover are among the betting highlights on Saturday at Fair Grounds.

The $1 Pick 6 gets underway in Race 4 (post time 3:15 p.m. ET). The tournament—a $200 Fair Grounds Bonus Feeder to Sunday's Rebel KDBC Qualifier—encompasses the entire nine-race card at Fair Grounds and requires bettors to wager their entire $100 bankroll across at least five races (minimum $10 per race).

A single for the $1,239 Pick 6 carryover

Whether you’re playing the Pick 6, the tournament, or both, you should check out Race 5. It’s a $50,000 allowance optional claimer for older horses sprinting six furlongs on dirt, and #6 Montalcino (3-5) looms as a standout favorite while facing only five rivals.

Montalcino opened his career with a pair of flashy victories last year. He beat a pair of next-out winners by 1 1/2 lengths in a seven-furlong maiden special weight at Saratoga, then wired a seven-furlong allowance at Keeneland by six lengths over next-out winner Banned for Life.

Those wins yielded strong Brisnet Speed ratings of 96 and 101. Montalcino repeated his 101 when making his stakes debut in the six-furlong Thanksgiving Classic S. at Fair Grounds three months ago. After setting a hot pace, he fought on to finish second by a head.

None of Montalcino’s Saturday rivals have posted a Brisnet Speed rating higher than 90 within the last year, so it will come as a major surprise of Montalcino falls to defeat while dropping in class. Pick 6 bettors can feel confident using Montalcino as a short-priced single.

A cold daily double for the $200 Fair Grounds Bonus Feeder tournament

Since Pick 6 wagers aren’t eligible for tournament play, tournament bettors should consider singling Montalcino to start a $20 daily double. In Race 6, the second leg of the double, we suggest using #4 Whimsically (5-2).

• Race 5: $20 Double: 6 with 4

Whimsically showed promise back in 2023. In her second start, she crossed the wire first in a one-mile maiden special weight at Colonial Downs, only to be disqualified to third place. Then in the 1 1/16-mile Miss Grillo (G2) at Aqueduct, she finished third behind next-out Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) winner Hard to Justify.

Whimsically hasn’t run since, but trainer Cherie DeVaux wins at a 21% rate with horses returning from layoffs of 90 days or more, and sharp workouts (including a bullet half-mile in :47 3/5 at Fair Grounds) suggest Whimsically is fit for a winning return under red-hot jockey Jose Ortiz.

Good luck!