Carryover picks: $30,023 at Santa Anita, $4,990 at Churchill

Handicapper J. Keeler Johnson shares horses to play in a trio of Sunday carryovers at Churchill Downs and Santa Anita.

Churchill Downs: Race 1: $4,990 Super High 5 carryover (1:00 p.m. ET)

The opening race on Sunday’s card at Churchill Downs is a $100,000 maiden claimer for two-year-olds sprinting five furlongs on dirt. Bettors who select the top five finishers in the seven-horse field can win a share of a $4,990 carryover in the $1 Super High 5.

#6 Ultimit Warrior (8-1) is an intriguing longshot you won’t want to leave off your tickets. He’s only run once, tiring from a pace-tracking position to finish last of 11 in the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Sprint S.

Now Ultimit Warrior is switching from turf to dirt, cutting back from 6 1/2 furlongs to five furlongs, dropping sharply in class, and making his first start as a gelding. Any of these changes could trigger improvement, and the fact trainer Brittany Vanden Berg wins at a lofty 27% rate with second-time starters reiterates the possibility Ultimit Warrior could take a big step forward on Sunday.

Santa Anita: Race 3: $22,814 Place Pick 8 carryover (4:01 p.m. ET)
Santa Anita: Race 5: $30,023 Pick 6 carryover (5:03 p.m. ET)

A couple of five-figure carryovers will be paid out in mandatory fashion on Sunday at Santa Anita.

The $2 Pick 6 features a $30,023 prize pool, while the $1 Place Pick 8—in which bettors must select horses to finish either first or second in eight straight races—boasts a $22,814 carryover.

Bettors seeking a single in the Place Pick 8 should check out #1 Proletariat (3-5) in Race 4, the Twilight Derby (G2) for three-year-olds racing 1 1/8 miles on turf. Proletariat is 3-for-3 this year and led all the way to win the 1 1/8-mile Del Mar Derby (G2) last time out with a sharp 99 Brisnet Speed rating. None of his Race 4 rivals have run faster on the Brisnet Speed rating scale, and Proletariat has already beaten 60% of them, so a top-two finish appears likely.

One of the trickiest legs of the Pick 6 to handicap is Race 7, a 6 1/2-furlong maiden special weight for two-year-old fillies. None of the experienced runners appear overly formidable, so bettors may want to lean on first-time starter #8 Dragon Reign (3-1), a daughter of successful sire Constitution out of Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) winner Ce Ce.

Dragon Reign has put together a solid work tab for trainer Michael McCarthy and has hot jockey Juan Hernandez named to ride, so there’s plenty to like about her chances.

Good luck!