Pick 6 Preview: Churchill Downs - $30,260 Carryover, June 21, 2013

Photo: Matt Carter

Pick-6 carryover of $30,260 for the twilight Friday card at Churchill Downs and it looks like a sequence that could produce an overlaid payout. The first leg is race six, a maiden claimer at one-mile on the main dirt track.

Friendly Dancer should be able to kick off the pick-6 for favorite backers after finishing second at this level in May. He was a length and one-quarter off the winner, but finished 13 lengths clear of the third place horse. Put a ring around the five and move on to race seven.

With the scratch of At the Pulpit in race seven, a claiming race on the turf, things got a bit easier for the morning line favorite Exit, who is making his first start for trainer Michael Maker. The jockey/trainer combination of Maker and Rose Napravnik has been a tough team to deny this meet and once again they will be the heavy favorite. Big Lucky or Awesome Attack looks best to upset if long shot Ripinandaterin puts pressure on the favorite early.

Splurgess and Ginny’s Grey are the principles in race eight and most will use just these two. Marlene’s Love is a third to add if long shots are your cup of tea as is Vassily, who is making her second start off a layoff and dropping down in class.

Maiden fillies and mares sprint five furlongs in race nine and Miss Bracken will be hard to deny if she transfers her form from the dirt to the turf. She was bet in her debut, but just failed late, losing by three-quarters of a length. It’s not easy to win from post eight on this turf course; however, and Rock Hard Cat looks her biggest danger one post to her inside. Comfort and Joy is a second-time-starter that was well bet in her debut, but simply ran around the track. The third place finisher in that race, Finesse, came back to win her next start.

Things open up a little more in race ten and its best to use all of the eight fillies to provide some separation in the pick-6. Our Jenny B looks the least likely winner in the field.

There’s Two goes first-off-the claim for trainer Michael Maker and as such will be bet. He was second at twice the claiming race in mid-May and has come back to work two times since. It helped that his biggest danger, Zero X Zero, was an early morning scratch. Hard Knocking has had plenty of chances in her career, but now drops to her lowest level. It’s now or never for the four-year-old gelding. Pontchartrain, Mykindagold and Feature Winner will be up close in front of the favorite and may be worth including if the track is playing towards speed, but they will still to work to upset the favorite.

First post on Friday at Churchill Downs is 2:45 pm ET with the pick-6 scheduled to start at 5:22.