Friday’s Best Bets and Quick Picks: Colonial’s $2,103 Pick 6 carryover

Handicapper J. Keeler Johnson shares best bets and quick picks for Friday, March 14 at Colonial Downs, Santa Anita, and Turfway Park, along with horses to single in Pick 6 carryovers at Colonial Downs and Fair Grounds.

Today’s special offers from TwinSpires include:

• New Players $200 Sign-Up Bonus: Open your TwinSpires.com account using the offer code BET200 to start earning a $200 bonus.
• 8x Points at Colonial Downs: Receive 8x reward points on all bets at Colonial Downs (excluding show bets) on Thursday and Friday.
• Oaklawn Park 15% Across the Board Boost: Receive a 15% bonus (up to $25 per day) on winning individual win, place, and show wagers—or combination of win, place, and show wagers—at Oaklawn Park each Friday in March.
• 10x Points at Fraser Downs: Receive 10x reward points on all wagers (excluding show bets) at Fraser Downs each Friday.
• Cheltenham $10 Money Back: Receive $10 back on your first single-horse win bet if your horse runs second or third in all eligible races at Cheltenham Racecourse from Tuesday through Friday.
• Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool 5 Bet/Get: Wager at least $50+ during the duration of Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool 5 to receive 20% cash back (up to $100), along with an invitation to an exclusive Kentucky Derby Week Bet/Get offer.
• Sydney Racing Carnival Leaderboard: Place $10+ win bets on races at selected Australian tracks to climb the leaderboard and compete for a spot in the 2025 Kentucky Derby Betting Challenge. You can also earn your share of a $1,000 weekly prize pool.

Today’s TwinSpires tournaments include:

• $200 Colonial Downs/Oaklawn Bonus Feeder Friday to 3/15 Virginia Derby/Oaklawn KDBC Qualifier
• $200 Turfway Feeder to 3/22 Louisiana Derby/Jeff Ruby Steaks KDBC Qualifier

Best Bets and Quick Picks

Colonial Downs: Race 7: $150,000 Handicap (seven furlongs on dirt, 3:28 p.m. ET)

#6 Book’em Danno (1-1) competed at a high level sprinting last year. He won the Woody Stephens (G1), Pasco S., and Jersey Shore S. in addition to placing in the H. Allen Jerkens Memorial (G1) and Perryville (G3).

Book’em Danno has been freshened since finishing a troubled fifth in the one-mile Cigar Mile H. (G2) to wrap up 2024. Trainer Derek Ryan wins at a respectable 14% rate with horses returning from layoffs of 90 days or more, so we’ll count on Book’em Danno to deliver victory while cutting back to seven furlongs.

Multiple stakes winner #4 Celtic Contender (4-1) can complete the exacta.

Selections

• #6 Book’em Danno (1-1)
• #4 Celtic Contender (4-1)
• #1 Repo Rocks (5-1)

Wagers

• $20 Exacta: 6 with 4

Santa Anita: Race 3: Maiden Special Weight (1 1/16 miles on dirt, 5:04 p.m. ET)

#4 Modus Bestia (3-1) ran well when debuting in a 6 1/2-furlong maiden special weight at Santa Anita. He advanced into the teeth of a :44.14 half-mile before staying on to finish second by half a length.

Stretching out over 1 1/16 miles should allow Modus Bestia to partake in a more relaxed pace, opening the door for improvement. We’ll try betting him to win.

Selections

• #4 Modus Bestia (3-1)
• #1 Westwood (5-2)
• #6 Voldemort (9-5)

Wagers

• $25 to win on #4 Modus Bestia

Turfway Park: Race 2: $30,000 Maiden Claiming (six furlongs on Tapeta, 6:25 p.m. ET)

Since 2022, trainer Paulo Lobo has compiled an excellent 10-for-28 (36%) record saddling first-time starters in sprints at Turfway Park.

That statistic stamps #6 Pisgah Pike (8-1) as an appealing win play. The daughter of Blame has put together a lengthy work tab and is slated to be ridden by Joseph Ramos, who has gone 1-for-1 teaming up with Lobo over the last two months.

We’ll keep our strategy simple with a win bet.

Selections

• #6 Pisgah Pike (8-1)
• #4 Yaani (3-1)
• #5 Truthorconsequence (6-1)

Wagers

• $25 to win on #6 Pisgah Pike

Carryover Watch

Colonial Downs: Race 3: $2,103 Pick 6 carryover (1:30 p.m. ET)

To accommodate the first running of the Virginia Derby as a Kentucky Derby (G1) qualifier, Colonial Downs is holding a three-day race meet from Thursday through Saturday.

Opening day went by without anyone solving the “Old Dominion 6” Pick 6, so the $1 wager features a $2,103 carryover for Friday’s card.

As outlined previously, we’re keen to support #6 Book’em Danno (1-1) in Race 7, a $150,000 handicap taking place over seven furlongs on dirt. In addition to his compelling form lines against tough competition, Book’em Danno brings a Brisnet Speed rating advantage to the table. He’s posted triple-digit numbers in four of his last five starts, whereas none of his Friday rivals have cracked the triple-digit plateau in 2024 or 2025.

We recommend singling Book’em Danno in the Pick 6.

Fair Grounds: Race 4: $6,304 Pick 6 carryover (3:15 p.m. ET)

The $1 Pick 6 at Fair Grounds hasn’t been solved since Saturday. As a result, there’s a triple carryover worth $6,304 on the table in Friday’s Pick 6 at the New Orleans racetrack.

Looking for a single to build tickets around? Check out #9 Cigarette Boat (9-5) in Race 4, the opening leg of the Pick 6. Race 4 is an allowance for older horses sprinting about 5 1/2 furlongs on turf, conditions which should suit Cigarette Boat just fine.

Cigarette Boat has run well in two recent starts sprinting over this course and class level. He finished second by a head on Jan. 3, earning an 87 Brisnet Speed rating. He then improved to an 89 when finishing second by three-quarters of a length on Feb. 1.

Cigarette Boat also competed well against allowance company on the New York circuit last year. He hit the board three times at Saratoga and Aqueduct, earning Brisnet Speed ratings of 85, 87, and 92.

None of the other horses in Friday’s field have recently posted a Brisnet Speed rating higher than 84, so Cigarette Boat ought to have this group measured. His third try over the Fair Grounds lawn can end in a comfortable victory.

Good luck!