Analyzing six-figure, mandatory-payout Pick 6s at Turf Paradise, Turfway Park

Handicapper J. Keeler Johnson shares horses to bet in a pair of six-figure, mandatory-payout Pick 6 carryovers on Saturday at Turf Paradise and Turfway Park.

Turf Paradise: Race 4: $241,933 Pick 6 mandatory payout (4:11 p.m. ET)

The Saturday card at Turf Paradise is highlighted by the mandatory payout of a massive $241,933 carryover in the 20-cent Grand Canyon Pick 6 Jackpot.

If you’re looking for a reliable single to build tickets around, we recommend #3 Naturally Blonde (2-1) in Race 4, a $4,500 maiden claimer for fillies and mares sprinting six furlongs on dirt. Pacesetters have won 62% of six-furlong dirt dashes at Turf Paradise this meet, but there isn’t a ton of speed entered in Race 4, which should suit Naturally Blonde just fine.

Naturally Blonde has spent most of her career competing against tougher competition on turf in California. When she switched to dirt and dropped in class for a $4,500 maiden claimer at Turf Paradise last month, she ran well, dueling for the lead before staying on to finish second. She pulled 7 1/2 lengths clear of the third-place finisher.

If Naturally Blonde shakes loose on a reasonably easy lead in her second start at Turf Paradise, she can deliver victory as a short-priced single.

Turfway Park: Race 5: $236,879 Pick 6 mandatory payout (7:55 p.m. ET)

The final day of 2025 racing at Turfway Park features the mandatory payout of a $236,879 carryover in the 20-cent Single 6 Jackpot Pick 6.

The feature event in the highly competitive Pick 6 sequence is Race 8, the $125,000 Last Hurrah S. for three-year-olds racing 1 1/8 miles on Tapeta. Some bettors may be inclined to single #3 Final Gambit (8-5), who launched a last-to-first rally to win the Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3) over this track and distance during the spring. He’s lost six straight races since then, but those defeats have come on dirt and turf, and one was a respectable fourth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby (G1).

However, we suggest including #9 Energize (9-2) on your tickets as well. So far, the Godolphin homebred has competed exclusively on dirt, with good success. Last time out, he defeated older horses in a 1 1/8-mile allowance at Churchill Downs, earning a 99 Brisnet Speed rating only two points lower than Final Gambit’s career-best number.

As a son of Medaglia d’Oro out of a mare by Ghostzapper, Energize has the pedigree to shine while switching to Tapeta for hot trainer Michael Stidham, who has gone 2-for-7 (29%) at Turfway Park this meet. We believe there’s a strong chance Energize will upset Final Gambit at enticing odds, boosting the prospective Pick 6 payoff.

Good luck!