Singles for Sunday’s Pick 6 carryover at Fair Grounds, mandatory payout at Gulfstream

The ever-elusive $1 Pick 6 at Fair Grounds proved unsolvable on Saturday, triggering a $1,912 carryover into Sunday’s card, and Gulfstream Park will have a mandatory payout of its Rainbow 6 carryover.

Fair Grounds, Race 3: $1,912 Pick 6 carryover (2:45 p.m. ET)

The Pick 6 spans Race 3 through Race 8, a sequence containing 62 horses (averaging about 10.3 per race) and a hefty 982,800 possible outcomes.

Here’s the good news: half a dozen horses are also-eligible entrants, so chances are we’ll get a helpful number of scratches come race day.

Even better, Race 6 drew a six-horse field featuring a standout favorite, so we can simplify the ticket assembly process with a seemingly trustworthy single.

Race 6: Hall of Fame looks tough to beat

Race 6 is a $50,000 allowance optional claimer for older horses racing 1 1/16 miles on dirt. The morning-line favorite is #1 Hall of Fame (7-5), a four-year-old hailing from the Hall of Fame barn of Steve Amussen.

Hall of Fame caught eyes at Fair Grounds nearly one year ago when he smashed a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight by 10 1/4 lengths, earning a 91 Brisnet Speed rating. That runaway victory prompted two forays on the Road to the Kentucky Derby at Fair Grounds.

First, Hall of Fame ran respectably in a deep edition of the Risen Star (G2). He made a mid-race move before tiring to finish seventh against a stellar field containing future Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) winner Sierra Leone, future Kentucky Derby (G1) fourth and Preakness (G1) third-place finisher Catching Freedom, and next-out Wood Memorial (G2) winner Resilience.

Then came the Louisiana Derby (G2), in which Hall of Fame misfired and finished a distant 10th. Something may have gone wrong that day, because Hall of Fame disappeared from the work tab after the Louisiana Derby and didn’t return to serious training until August.

Fortunately, Hall of Fame returned better than ever in a one-mile allowance on Dec. 1 at Churchill Downs. After tracking and pressing hot fractions of :22.51, :44.56, and 1:08.58, he took over to win by two lengths in the sharp time of 1:33.79, earning a career-best 94 Brisnet Speed rating.

Singling Hall of Fame is the strategy

If Hall of Fame moves forward at all in his second start back, he’ll be tough to deny under jockey Jose Ortiz, the leading jockey at Fair Grounds this meet and a 38% winner teaming up with Asmussen over the last 60 days.

We recommend singling Hall of Fame in the Pick 6.

Bonus pick: Gulfstream Park, Race 5: $337,274 Pick 6 mandatory payout

The Sunday card at Gulfstream Park is highlighted by the mandatory payout of a $337,274 Rainbow Pick 6 carryover. The final pool for the 20-cent wager is expected to reach the $3 million range.

Need a single to build tickets around? Our best recommendation is #7 Hello Hello Hello (9-5) in Race 9, an allowance for three-year-old fillies racing one mile and 70 yards on Tapeta.

Hello Hello Hello has won both of her starts over this track and distance. She smashed a maiden special weight by 4 1/2 lengths and took a $75,000 allowance optional claimer by 7 1/2 lengths over a next-out winner.

Those victories earned Brisnet Speed ratings of 83 and 85, the two highest numbers in Sunday’s field. If Hello Hello Hello brings her A game, she can boost her record over the Gulfstream Tapeta to a perfect 3-for-3.

Good luck!