Friday’s Best Bets and Quick Picks: Santa Anita’s $68,636 Pick 6 carryover

Handicapper J. Keeler Johnson shares best bets and quick picks for Friday, April 25 at Aqueduct and Keeneland, along with a single for the $68,638 Pick 6 carryover at Santa Anita.

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.
• 10x Points at Fraser Downs: Receive 10x reward points on all wagers (excluding show bets) at Fraser Downs each Friday.
• Keeneland 25% Double Down: Hit two double wagers on any day at Keeneland from April 23 through April 25 to receive a 25% boost (up to a daily maximum of $25) on all winning double wagers at Keeneland for the day.

Today’s TwinSpires tournaments include:

• $200 Keeneland Bonus Feeder Friday to 4/26 Churchill Downs KDBC Qualifier
• $200 Charles Town Feeder to 5/1 Thurby KDBC Qualifier

Best Bets and Quick Picks

Aqueduct: Race 2: Maiden Special Weight (5 1/2 furlongs on turf, 1:01 p.m. ET)

#8 Ganymede (2-1) looks ready to win first-time out for trainer Wesley Ward, who has gone 5-for-12 (42%) debuting juveniles at Keeneland this meet.

As a daughter of Omaha Beach out of a mare by Galileo, Ganymede is bred to shine on turf. She posted a bullet three-furlong workout from the Keeneland starting gate earlier this month and is worthy of a large win bet.

Selections

• #8 Ganymede (2-1)
• #10 Diva Calling (8-1)
• #2 Nanina (7-2)

Wagers

• $30 to win on #8 Ganymede

Keeneland: Race 7: Maiden Special Weight (six furlongs on dirt, 3:36 p.m. ET)

Since 2022, trainer Brad Cox has gone 7-for-17 (41%) debuting three-year-olds on dirt at Keeneland, a statistic that identifies #7 Lifes Reward (5-2) as a logical win threat on Friday.

A full-brother to Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) and Pegasus World Cup (G1) winner Life Is Good, Lifes Reward has put together an encouraging work tab at Payson Park, including a bullet half-mile from the starting gate in :49 2/5. Under Eclipse Award-winning jockey Flavien Prat, Lifes Reward looks ready to shine on debut.

A win bet is in order.

Selections

• #7 Lifes Reward (5-2)
• #9 White Whale (8-1)
• #4 Dontworryboutnothn (9-2)

Wagers

• $30 to win on #7 Lifes Reward

Aqueduct: Race 6: Maiden Special Weight (6 1/2 furlongs on dirt, 3:50 p.m. ET)

Trainer Chad Brown does well debuting older horses on dirt at Aqueduct. Since 2023, he’s gone 4-for-9 (44%) with such runners.

Brown’s unraced four-year-old #1 Playing Tricks (4-1) can add another win to that tally. The son of champion juvenile Good Magic has trained sharply in preparation for his debut, most notably clocking a bullet five furlongs from the Belmont Park training track starting gate in 1:00 1/5.

Playing Tricks is slated to be ridden by Dylan Davis, who has gone 5-for-9 (56%) teaming up with Brown over the last two months. This cements Playing Tricks as a compelling win contender.

Selections

• #1 Playing Tricks (4-1)
• #8 Vow of Secrecy (3-1)
• #6 Draft Riots (5-1)

Wagers

• $30 to win on #1 Playing Tricks

Carryover Watch

Santa Anita: Race 4: $68,636 Pick 6 carryover (5:37 p.m. ET)

Although there weren’t any dramatic upsets at Santa Anita last Sunday (a 10-1 shot was the only winner starting at double-digit odds), no one managed to solve the Pick 6, which means the $2 wager boasts a $68,636 carryover for Friday’s card. The final pool is expected to reach $500,000.

Friday’s Pick 6 sequence is packed with large fields. Every race contains at least nine horses, and before scratches there are 882,090 possible Pick 6 outcomes.

Fortunately, Race 5—the second leg of the sequence—offer a viable single in the form of #7 Kikuride (9-5), a second-time starter who appears likely to visit the winner’s circle.

Race 5 is a maiden special weight for California-bred fillies and mares racing one mile on turf. Kikuride debuted in a six-furlong sprint over this course and class level on April 5, and despite getting away last in a 10-horse field, she rallied boldly down the homestretch to finish third by 1 1/4 lengths. She gained 5 1/4 lengths through the final furlong alone.

This promising debut yielded an 83 Brisnet Speed rating, which is eight points higher than the par winning number (75) for Friday’s conditions. It’s also the highest number belonging to any of the horses entered in Race 5.

A similar performance on Friday should send Kikuride to the winner’s circle, but there are reasons to believe she’ll improve in her second start, making her credentials even more formidable. For one, her pedigree suggests stretching out over one mile will suit her well. For another, trainer Craig Lewis wins at a lofty 21% rate with second-time starters, triple his 7% win rate with first-time starters since 2022.

Sealing the deal is the presence of hot jockey Juan Hernandez, a 24% winner at Santa Anita since Dec. 26. He’s gone 6-for-16 (38%) since racing resumed at Santa Anita on April 18 following a brief hiatus, and with Hernandez aboard we can feel confident using Kikuride as a Pick 6 single.

Good luck!