Friday’s Best Bets and Quick Picks: Aqueduct’s $30,569 Pick 6 carryover

Handicapper J. Keeler Johnson shares best bets and quick picks for Friday, June 13 at Gulfstream Park, Churchill Downs, and Santa Anita, along with two singles for Friday’s $30,569 Pick 6 carryover at Aqueduct.

Today’s special offers from TwinSpires include:

• New Players $200 Sign-Up Bonus: Open your TwinSpires.com account using the offer code BET200 to start earning a $200 bonus.
• British Racing $10 Money Back: Receive up to $10 back on your first single-horse win wager if your horse runs second in selected British races from May 17 through Aug. 31.
• Churchill Downs Triple Rewards Points: Receive triple rewards point on all wagers (excluding show bets) at Churchill Downs from Wednesday through Friday.
• 10x Points at Meadowlands: Receive 10x reward points on all wagers (excluding show bets) at The Meadowlands each Friday and Saturday in June.

Today’s TwinSpires tournaments include:

• $70 Churchill Downs Challenge
• $200 Churchill Downs Bonus Feeder Friday to 6/14 Churchill Downs SFBC Qualifier
• $100 Charles Town Feeder to 6/21 Churchill Downs SFBC Qualifier

Best Bets and Quick Picks

Gulfstream Park: Race 1: $35,000 Maiden Claiming (five furlongs on turf, 12:50 p.m. ET)

#1 Fire On the Wire (9-5) performed respectably when debuting in a five-furlong maiden special weight over the Gulfstream Park turf course. After breaking slowly, Fire On the Wire recovered to race in midfield and finish fifth out of 11 horses, beaten four lengths.

Trainer Jose D’Angelo wins at an 18% rate with second-time starters, and at a 19% rate with horses dropping from maiden special weight to maiden claiming company, so Fire On the Wire should be tough to beat while facing easier competition. A win bet is in order, along with a small exacta using #8 I Love Ines (6-1) for second place.

Selections

• #1 Fire On the Wire (9-5)
• #8 I Love Ines (6-1)
• #5 Why (3-1)

Wagers

• $25 to win on #1 Fire On the Wire
• $5 Exacta: 1 with 8
  Total: $30

Churchill Downs: Race 6: $100,000 Allowance Optional Claiming (six furlongs on dirt, 3:18 p.m. ET)

#7 Discreet Mischief (5-2) showed flashes of talent as a three-year-old last year, but he’s elevated his game to a new level as a four-year-old. He’s gone 2-for-2 this season, rallying to win a six-furlong allowance at Fair Grounds before smashing an $80,000 allowance optional claimer at Keeneland by 7 1/2 lengths.

The latter victory yielded a career-best 100 Brisnet Speed rating. Discreet Mischief looks like a possible stakes horse in the making for high-percentage trainer Brad Cox, so let’s bet him to win and play an exacta using #3 Nash (2-1) for second place.

Selections

• #7 Discreet Mischief (5-2)
• #3 Nash (2-1)
• #6 Red State (3-1)

Wagers

• $22 to win on #7 Discreet Mischief
• $8 Exacta: 7 with 3
  Total: $30

Santa Anita: Race 2: Maiden Special Weight (five furlongs on dirt, 4:30 p.m. ET)

#4 Acknowledgemeplz (2-1) has shown serious speed in the mornings for trainer Doug O’Neill, a respectable 14% winner with first-time starters. On May 11, Acknowledgemeplz worked a near-bullet half-mile from the Santa Anita starting gate in :46 3/5. On June 1, he completed a similar exercise in :46 4/5.

Acknowledgemeplz has a shot to upset fellow first-time starter #5 Desert Gate (6-5), a quick-working colt from the barn of Bob Baffert. Let’s bet an exacta accordingly.

Selections

• #4 Acknowledgemeplz (2-1)
• #5 Desert Gate (6-5)
• #2 Proletariat (5-1)

Wagers

• $20 Exacta: 4 with 5

Carryover Watch

Aqueduct: Race 4: $30,569 Pick 6 carryover (2:35 p.m. ET)

There’s a lucrative Pick 6 carryover available to chase on Friday at Aqueduct. After going unsolved during Thursday’s card, the $1 wager boasts a $30,569 prize pool.

The first two legs of the Pick 6 appear straightforward to handicap. Here are two suggested singles you can build tickets around:

Race 4: #4 Tazara (6-5)

The opening leg of the Pick 6 is a $75,000 allowance optional claimer for fillies and mares dashing six furlongs over the outer turf course. Former European campaigner Tazara is the filly to beat while making her second stateside start for high-percentage trainer Chad Brown.

Tazara ran well in her U.S. debut over this course, distance, and class level on May 11. After carving out the pace, she weakened only slightly to finish second by 1 3/4 lengths. Even in defeat, she earned a 90 Brisnet Speed rating that stacks up nicely against Friday’s field. Not bad for her first start in 6 1/2 months.

Brown wins at a 28% rate with horses running back for the second time following a layoff, and at a 25% rate with horses running for the second start under his care. If Tazara moves forward at all on Friday, she can deliver a decisive victory under hot jockey Flavien Prat.

Race 5: #7 Dancin Jane (9-5)

In this $50,000 maiden claimer for New York-bred fillies and mares racing one mile on turf, Dancin Jane ought to have her rivals measured.

Dancin Jane ran well in two starts against New York-breds last year. She debuted in a $40,000 maiden claimer racing 1 1/16 miles over the Saratoga turf, finishing second by half a length after tracking the early pace. Then in a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight over the Aqueduct lawn, Dancin Jane dueled for command through much of the race before weakening to finish fifth.

Trainer Linda Rice wins at a 29% rate with horses descending from maiden special weight to maiden claiming company, so dropping back down the class ladder should make Dancin Jane tough to beat under five-time Eclipse Award-winning jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. She’s clearly the fastest filly in Friday’s field from a Brisnet Speed rating standpoint, so Pick 6 bettors can feel confident singling Dancin Jane in her 2025 debut.

Good luck!