Emerald Downs: Single for Sunday’s $8,505 Pick 5 carryover

Bettors playing Emerald Downs on Sunday will be happy to hear there’s an $8,505 carryover up for grabs in the 50-cent Pick 5.

Emerald Downs: Race 4: $8,505 Pick 5 carryover

In terms of complexity, Sunday’s Pick 5 sequence looks challenging in some places and easy in others. The five races have drawn a combined 41 horses (averaging 8.2 per race), but three of the races feature seven or fewer entries, and the other two have drawn competitive fields of 10 and 12 horses.

If you’re seeking a single to build tickets around, we recommend #1 Empirical (9-5) in Race 4 (6:42 p.m. ET), the opening leg of the Pick 5. Race 4 has drawn only six horses, so Empirical won’t have to beat many rivals to deliver on our high expectations.

Best single: Race 4: #1 Empirical (9-5)

Race 4 is a $15,000 claimer for fillies and mares dashing six furlongs on dirt. Three of the six entrants have recently lost against $15,000 or $10,000 claiming competition and appear relatively unlikely to secure victory on Sunday.

Her other two rivals finished fourth and fifth in a recent $25,000 claimer sprinting 5 1/2 furlongs at Emerald Downs, where Empirical was runner-up. She finished clearly best among the trio of horses entered in Race 4 and should be tough to beat while dropping in class.

Empirical went 0-for-4 at Emerald Downs last year, but she finished second three times against maiden special weight and $25,000 maiden claiming competition.

Empirical has elevated her game to a new level in 2026. She opened the season with a 1 1/4-length victory in a 5 1/2-furlong maiden special weight, in which she earned a career-best 79 Brisnet Speed rating. Then came her runner-up effort in the $25,000 claimer, in which she was beaten only by next-out allowance winner Storm Harbor while earning a 78 Brisnet Speed rating.

None of Empirical’s Race 4 rivals have recently earned a Brisnet Speed rating higher than 76, so if Empirical maintains her recent form, she should deliver a comfortable victory for the red-hot jockey/trainer duo of Kevin Orozco and Kay Cooper, who have gone 6-for-16 (38%) teaming up together over the last two months.

Good luck!