Monday’s Best Bets and Quick Picks: Graded stakes and a $28,225 Pick 6 carryover

Handicapper J. Keeler Johnson shares Memorial Day best bets and quick picks for Monday, May 26 at Churchill Downs and Santa Anita, along with horses to single in Aqueduct’s $28,225 Pick 6 carryover.

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 Woodbine Mohawk: Receive 8x reward points on all wagers (excluding show bets) at Woodbine Mohawk each Monday in May.
• Memorial Day 15% Odds Boost: Receive a 15% odds boost on your winning single-horse win wagers (up to $50 for the day) at Churchill Downs, Aqueduct, and Santa Anita on Monday, May 26.

Today’s TwinSpires tournaments include:

• $70 Churchill Downs Challenge
• $800 Churchill Downs BCBC Qualifier
• $200 Presque Isle Downs Feeder to 5/31 Churchill Downs KDBC/BCBC Qualifier
• $30 Mountaineer Challenge

Best Bets and Quick Picks

Churchill Downs: Race 8: Winning Colors (G3, six furlongs on dirt, 4:22 p.m. ET)

#1 Brightwork (8-1) won the Spinaway (G1) as a juvenile and boasts a near-perfect 5-for-6 record in sprints. Her lone sprint defeat came when finishing third in the Thoroughbred Club of America (G2) at Keeneland last fall, in which she was compromised by racing wide over a rail-biased track.

Brightwork has posted sharp workouts in preparation for her four-year-old debut and may have a shot to surprise against #7 Hope Road (7-5), who is wheeling back barely more than three weeks after finishing second in the Derby City Distaff (G1). Let’s try betting Brightwork to win and keying her over Hope Road in the exacta.

Selections

• #1 Brightwork (8-1)
• #7 Hope Road (7-5)
• #9 Two Sharp (8-5)

Wagers

• $20 to win on #1 Brightwork
• $10 Exacta: 1 with 7
  Total: $30

Santa Anita: Race 7: Gamely (G1, 1 1/8 miles on turf, 7:08 p.m. ET)

#6 Expensive Queen (5-1) is an interesting newcomer to the California scene. Formerly based in England, the four-year-old filly made her U.S. debut in a 1 1/16-mile grass allowance on April 18 at Keeneland, charging late to win by a neck in her first start since November.

Expensive Queen finished fast and may have upside for trainer Brendan Walsh, a 19% winner with horses running back for the second time following a layoff. A win bet is in order.

Selections

• #6 Expensive Queen (5-1)
• #8 Be Your Best (4-1)
• #5 No Show Sammy Jo (7-2)

Wagers

• $20 to win on #6 Expensive Queen

Santa Anita: Race 8: Hollywood Gold Cup (1 1/4 miles on dirt, 7:38 p.m. ET)

#2 Packs a Wahlop (20-1) was beaten only a head when finishing second in the 1 1/4-mile Charles Whittingham (G2) on turf last time out. The distance of the Hollywood Gold Cup shouldn’t be an issue, and switching to dirt offers potential for improvement—trainer John Sadler wins at a 26% rate with horses transitioning from turf to dirt.

Throw in the fact Sadler wins California’s major 1 1/4-mile dirt races with regularity, and Packs a Wahlop is worth a win bet at his 20-1 morning-line odds. Accomplished East Coast raider #5 Skippylongstocking (1-1) can round out the exacta.

Selections

• #2 Packs a Wahlop (20-1)
• #5 Skippylongstocking (1-1)
• #4 Extensive (3-1)

Wagers

• $20 to win on #2 Packs a Wahlop
• $10 Exacta: 2 with 5
  Total: $30

Carryover Watch

Aqueduct: Race 4: $28,225 Pick 6 carryover (2:35 p.m. ET)

The Memorial Day card at Aqueduct is highlighted by a non-jackpot $28,225 carryover in the $1 Pick 6.

The sequence may prove solvable on a modest budget. We’ve analyzed the entries and believe the following short-priced favorites are worth singling:

Race 6: #2 Reynolds Channel (7-5)

The third leg of the Pick 6 is a $30,000 claimer for three-year-olds and older horses dashing seven furlongs over the main track. Reynolds Channel, a four-year-old conditioned by Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, looms as the horse to beat.

Reynolds Channel is dropping in class after finishing ninth in a seven-furlong allowance at Keeneland last month. His form on the New York circuit is better; he finished sixth, third, and fifth in one-turn allowances at Aqueduct between September and January, and last summer he rallied to finish fifth in Saratoga’s H. Allen Jerkens Memorial (G1).

None of Reynolds Channel’s Monday rivals have earned a Brisnet Speed rating higher than 86, but he has exceeded that mark in four of his last six starts, earning Speed ratings of 88, 91, 91, and 97. Dropping in class should be all Reynolds Channel needs to visit the winner’s circle under hot jockey Joel Rosario.

Race 9: #8 Right to Win (6-5)

The finale of the Pick 6 is a $50,000 maiden claimer for three-year-olds and older horses tackling 1 1/16 miles on turf. A large field has entered, but we believe Right to Win is a standout.

A five-year-old gelding conditioned by four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown, Right to Win has competed exclusively against maiden special weight competition on turf, hitting the board in all five of his starts. This year, he’s finished third in a 1 1/16-mile contest at Gulfstream Park and fourth in a one-mile race at Tampa Bay Downs.

Brown wins at a 29% rate with horses dropping from maiden special weight to maiden claiming company, and jockey Manny Franco (a 33% winner teaming up with Brown over the last two months) is named to ride, so stats suggest Right to Win is poised for a winning performance in his third run of the season.

Good luck!