Friday’s Best Bets and Quick Picks: Five-figure Pick 6 carryovers

Handicapper J. Keeler Johnson shares best bets and quick picks for Friday, Feb. 20 at Fair Grounds, Santa Anita, and Turfway Park, along with a horse to single in a pair of five-figure Pick 6 carryovers.

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.
• 5x Rewards Points at Woodbine Mohawk: Receive 5x rewards points on all wagers at Woodbine Mohawk each racing Friday in February.
• Road to the Kentucky Derby $5,000 WIN Ladder: Hit $10+ single-horse win bets in selected races at Meydan Racecourse on Friday, Feb. 20 to climb the Win Ladder and compete for your share of a $5,000 prize pool.

Today’s TwinSpires tournaments include:

• $40 Fair Grounds Challenge
• $160 Fair Grounds Feeder to 3/7 Tampa Bay Derby/Oaklawn KDBC Qualifier
• $70 Oaklawn Challenge
• $400 Oaklawn Bonus Feeder to 2/21 Oaklawn KDBC/NHC Qualifier
• $70 Turfway Park Challenge
• $200 Turfway Park Feeder to 3/1 Rebel KDBC Qualifier

Best Bets and Quick Picks

Fair Grounds: Race 6: $125,000 Allowance Optional Claiming (six furlongs on dirt, 4:15 p.m. ET)

#2 Knock It Off (3-5) is an exciting young runner. He wired his debut sprinting six furlongs at Fair Grounds by 1 1/4 lengths over Trouble Calling, earning a flashy 97 Brisnet Speed rating. The form was flattered when Trouble Calling returned to win his next start over the same conditions by 6 1/4 lengths.

Knock It Off should be mighty tough to beat while tackling another six-furlong sprint at Fair Grounds. Let’s key him over #3 Zun Day (4-1) in a cold exacta.

Selections

• #2 Knock It Off (3-5)
• #3 Zun Day (4-1)
• #5 Silver Talisman (8-1)

Wagers

• $25 Exacta: 2 with 3

Santa Anita: Race 3: Maiden Special Weight (one mile on dirt, 4:32 p.m. ET)

Los Alamitos Futurity (G2) runner-up #4 Blacksmith (4-5) is the heavy favorite, but he followed up his Futurity effort with a disappointing third-place finish as an odds-on favorite in a one-mile maiden special weight at Santa Anita. His 4-0-2-1 record suggests he has a tendency to settle for minor awards.

Let’s try to beat Blacksmith with his Bob Baffert-trained stablemate #3 Authentic Patriot (5-2), who is slated to be ridden by hot jockey Juan Hernandez, a 31% winner teaming up with Baffert over the last two months.

Authentic Patriot tired to finish sixth in his debut sprinting 6 1/2 furlongs at Del Mar, a race won by next-out San Vicente (G2) winner So Happy. Adding Lasix for his sophomore debut may trigger the step forward Authentic Patriot needs to visit the winner’s circle.

We’ll bet Authentic Patriot to win and key him over Blacksmith in an exacta.

Selections

• #3 Authentic Patriot (5-2)
• #4 Blacksmith (4-5)
• #2 Easy Company (7-2)

Wagers

• $25 Exacta: 3 with 4

Turfway Park: Race 7: Maiden Special Weight (one mile on Tapeta, 8:55 p.m. ET)

#6 Marble Arch (15-1) has only run once, debuting in a 1 1/8-mile maiden special weight on turf at Churchill Downs last June. She raced off the pace throughout and finished 11th behind next-out Kentucky Downs allowance winner Massarat.

Marble Arch is eligible to improve while switching to Tapeta off the long layoff. Let’s try a modest win bet on the stoutly bred daughter of English Channel.

Selections

• #6 Marble Arch (15-1)
• #7 Indict (5-2)
• #3 Sweet Surrender (7-2)

Wagers

• $15 to win on #6 Marble Arch

Carryover Watch

Sunset Six: $64,308 Pick 6 carryover (3:50 p.m. ET)

The final three races apiece at Gulfstream Park and Santa Anita comprise the Sunset Six, a special $1 Pick 6 boasting an enticing $64,308 carryover for Friday.

The first three legs, all at Gulfstream Park, feature large and competitive fields. But Leg D—Race 7 at Santa Anita—includes a viable single in the form of #2 Sharons Beach (3-2).

Race 4 is a $62,500 maiden optional claimer for three-year-olds dashing six furlongs on dirt. Only seven horses have entered, and Sharons Beach looks like a standout.

Conditioned by high-percentage trainer Jonathan Thomas (a 22% winner since 2025), Sharons Beach has improved with every start. He never factored in his debut on turf, then finished third after setting the pace in a seven-furlong maiden special weight at Colonial Downs.

After taking 5 1/2 months off, Sharons Beach returned with a big performance in a 6 1/2-furlong $62,500 maiden optional claimer on Jan. 23 at Santa Anita. He pressed quick fractions of :21.98 and :44.52 in second place, then failed by only a neck to chase down front-running Liam Smith, who flattered the form by returning to win a 6 1/2-furlong $50,000 starter optional claimer at Santa Anita by 11 lengths.

Sharons Beach’s solid showing against Liam Smith earned a 94 Brisnet Speed rating. It’s far and away the highest number belonging to any horse entered in Santa Anita’s seventh race. None of the other experienced horses have earned a number higher than 78. Sharons Beach’s 94 is also 12 points higher than the par winning number (82) for Race 7’s conditions.

Since Sharons Beach is sticking to the same track and class level on Friday, he’s a compelling horse to single in the Sunset Pick 6.

Santa Anita: $34,288 Pick 6 carryover (5:02 p.m. ET)

Santa Anita’s traditional $2 Pick 6 features a $34,288 carryover for Friday’s card.

The sequence encompasses the above-mentioned Race 7 in which #2 Sharons Beach (3-2) is clearly the horse to beat. As in the Sunset Six, we suggest singling Sharons Beach in Santa Anita’s Pick 6.

Good luck!