Keeneland: A single for the $82,329 Pick 6 carryover

Get ready—the Saturday card at Keeneland features a huge $82,329 carryover in the $1 Pick 6. We can expect thousands of additional dollars to join the pool.

The Pick 6 gets underway in Race 6 (post time 3:40) and runs through Race 11, a sequence encompassing two stakes: Race 9, the $400,000 Elkhorn (G2) for older horses racing 1 1/2 miles on grass, and Race 10, the $350,000 Ben Ali (G3) for older horses traversing 1 3/16 miles over the main track.

RELATED: Exotic plays for the Elkhorn Stakes

The stakes look competitive, and spreading deep may be necessary to have a reasonable chance at surviving. Fortunately, we can save some budget for the stakes by singling heavy favorite #5 Just a Touch (6-5) in Race 8, an $80,000 allowance optional claimer for older horses racing 1 1/8 miles on dirt.

Just a Touch has cracked the exacta in five of his six starts, with his lone miss coming in the 2024 Kentucky Derby (G1). He ran an especially strong race in the 1 1/8-mile Blue Grass (G1) at Keeneland last year, tracking the pace and taking over in midstretch before faltering slightly to finish second by 1 1/2 lengths against future champion and Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) winner Sierra Leone.

Just a Touch kicked off his four-year-old campaign in a 1 1/16-mile allowance at Fair Grounds last month. Dashing to the lead for the first time in his career, Just a Touch carved out a steady pace before rocketing his final five-sixteenths of a mile in :29.60 to win eased-up by 10 1/2 lengths.

That runaway triumph yielded a career-best 104 Brisnet Speed rating, Just a Touch’s second triple-digit number and the highest number in Saturday’s field. He arrives at Keeneland off a sharp series of half-mile workouts for high-percentage trainer Brad Cox and should win this allowance optional claimer with ease if he brings his A-game.

RELATED: Pick 3 of the Week: Keeneland Saturday

In addition to singling Just a Touch in the Pick 6, we recommend betting him on top of a cold exacta using stretch-running 2024 Native Diver (G3) winner #9 Skinner (3-1) for second place. This goes double if you’re participating in Saturday’s $800 Keeneland KDBC Qualifier tournament on TwinSpires.com, which requires betting your entire $400 bankroll across at least five races at Keeneland (minimum $40 per race) to climb the leaderboard.

• $40 Exacta: 5 with 9

Good luck!