Turfway: Longshots for the mandatory-payout $244,674 Pick 6 carryover

The final day of 2024 racing at Turfway Park features the mandatory payout of a massive $244,674 Pick 6 carryover.

The 20-cent wager kicks off in Race 4 at 7:25 p.m. ET.

Chances are, the Pick 6 will produce a lucrative payoff. The mandatory payout is bound to attract tons of additional betting dollars, and before scratches the six-race sequence includes 83 horses and a staggering 6,991,712 possible outcomes.

Even if you remove 11 also-eligible entrants from consideration, you’re left with a Pick 6 sequence containing 72 horses and 2,985,984 possible outcomes. These are massive numbers, even by Pick 6 standards, so assembling a winning ticket will be anything but easy. Those who do will be rewarded.

Some bettors will seek to simplify the challenge by singling #9 Sea Vista (6-5) in Race 5, a 6 1/2-furlong maiden special weight for juveniles. Conditioned by high-percentage trainer Brad Cox, Sea Vista has rallied to finish second in his first two starts sprinting on dirt at Saratoga and Churchill Downs. Switching to the Tapeta track at Turfway (which tends to play kindly toward closers) should give Sea Vista every chance to graduate.

But we can’t recommend standing alone with Sea Vista. Two first-time starters listed at double-digit odds on the morning line have upset potential.

#11 Grand Scan (12-1) is one. He’s trained by Paulo Lobo, who has compiled a stellar 9-for-24 (38%) record debuting horses in sprints at Turfway since 2022. Grand Scan has put together a respectable work tab highlighted by half a mile from the starting gate in :48 4/5, so don’t leave this son of Instagrand off your tickets.

For the same reasons, #4 Silver Ore (12-1) merits respect. Trainer Dougie Cowans has gone 2-for-10 (20%) saddling first-time starters in Turfway sprints since 2022, and Silver Ore has shown speed over the Turfway Tapeta, clocking five furlongs from the starting gate in :59 4/5. Silver Ore is eligible to outrun his odds in a big way.

The Pick 6 wraps up in Race 9, a six-furlong $5,000 claimer in which a $2,761 Super High 5 carryover is up for grabs.  #11 Contact Tracing (20-1) is a longshot worth using on Pick 6 and Super High 5 tickets alike.

Contact Tracing hasn’t missed the top five in her last nine starts, all on dirt at Horseshoe Indianapolis. Lately she’s been finishing third and fourth in $5,000 and $7,500 claimers racing one mile or farther.

Horseshoe Indianapolis dirt form often translates to fine performances over the Turfway Tapeta, so Contact Tracing is eligible to improve while trying this surface for the first time. Cutting back to a sprint, adding blinkers, and switching to trainer Chaz Rechy are other changes opening the door for improvement. Horses competing under Rechy’s care for the first time win at a lofty 27% rate, and a blazing half-mile workout in :45 3/5 at Horseshoe Indianapolis earlier this month suggests Contact Tracing has enough speed to factor in Saturday’s sprint.

Good luck!