Friday’s Best Bets and Quick Picks: Keeneland’s $44,695 Pick 6 carryover

Handicapper J. Keeler Johnson shares best bets and quick picks for Friday, April 24 at Keeneland and Oaklawn Park, including horses to single in Keeneland $44,695 Pick 6 carryover.

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.
• $2,000 Win Ladder at Keeneland: Hit $10+ single-horse win wagers at Keeneland to climb the Win Ladder and compete for your share of a $2,000 prize pool each racing Thursday and Friday in April.

Today’s TwinSpires tournaments include:

• $90 Keeneland Bet and Set Feeder to 4/30 Thurby KDBC Qualifier
• $400 Keeneland Bonus Feeder Friday to 4/25 Churchill Downs KDBC Qualifier
• $40 Keeneland Challenge
• $100 Keeneland Challenge
• $250 Oaklawn Feeder to 5/1 Kentucky Oaks Betting Challenge
• $40 Charles Town Challenge

Best Bets and Quick Picks

Keeneland: Race 2: Maiden Special Weight (5 1/2 furlongs on turf, 1:32 p.m. ET)

The final juvenile race of the meet looks ripe for conquest by #5 Shining Moment (7-5).

A daughter of speedy turf sprinter and two-time Breeders’ Cup winner Golden Pal, Shining Moment enters off a bullet half-mile workout in :35 4/5 at Keeneland. She’s conditioned by Wesley Ward, the dominant trainer of two-year-olds during the spring at Keeneland, and she has five-time Eclipse Award-winning jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. named to ride.

Let’s bet Shining Moment over #8 Extravaganzoo (7-2) in an exacta and single her to start a double wager.

Selections

• #5 Shining Moment (7-5)
• #8 Extravaganzoo (7-2)
• #9 Joker’s Chic (9-2)

Wagers

• $10 Exacta: 5 with 8
  $20 Double: 5 with 2
• Total: $30

Keeneland: Race 3: $20,000 Maiden Claiming (1 1/16 miles on dirt, 2:04 p.m. ET)

#2 Speed Skater (6-5) finished a good second when making her dirt debut in a $30,000 maiden claimer at Keeneland on April 11. She endured a troubled trip and got shut off in the homestretch, forcing her to switch outside before re-rallying to finish second by 1 1/2 lengths.

A clean trip while dropping down to the $20,000 level can send Speed Skater to the winner’s circle for red-hot trainer Brad Cox, a 38% winner at Keeneland this meet. We’ll single Speed Skater to conclude our double wager, then play her over #1 Imprudent (3-1) and #7 Senora d’Oro (6-1) in an exacta.

Selections

• #2 Speed Skater (6-5)
• #1 Imprudent (3-1)
• #7 Senora d’Oro (6-1)

Wagers

• $10 Exacta: 2 with 1,7 ($20)

Oaklawn Park: Race 5: Maiden Special Weight (six furlongs on dirt, 3:57 p.m. ET)

One of the fastest horses in this field from a Brisnet Speed rating perspective is #7 McKinsense (7-2). He earned an 83 when rallying to finish third on debut in a six-furlong $40,000 maiden claimer at Oaklawn last month.

The runner-up, Capital Connection, returned to win his next two starts at Oaklawn, flattering McKinsense’s form.

The only horse in Race 5 who has run faster than McKinsense on the Brisnet Speed rating scale is #6 D Bigalow (5-2), who posted an 84 over the synthetic Tapeta track at Turfway Park in December 2024. He hasn’t earned a number higher than 79 in five subsequent starts.

McKinsense appears well-spotted to break his maiden, even while ascending in class for a maiden special weight. Let’s place a win bet on McKinsense.

Selections

• #7 McKinsense (7-2)
• #2 Kalatua (12-1)
• #6 D Bigalow (5-2)

Wagers

• $25 to win on #7 McKinsense

Carryover Watch

Keeneland: Race 5: $44,695 Pick 6 carryover (3:08 p.m. ET)

The final day of racing at the Keeneland spring meet is highlighted by a $44,695 carryover in the $1 Pick 6.

The feature event in the sequence is Race 8, the $350,000 Bewitch (G3) for fillies and mares racing 1 1/2 miles on turf. #9 Speed Shopper (5-2) is the morning-line favorite, and her credentials are compelling.

Speed Shopper has demonstrated strong form racing 1 1/2 miles over the Gulfstream Park grass this year. In the Christophe Clement (G3), she saved ground two lengths off the pace before surging between rivals to score by 1 3/4 lengths. In the process, she ran her final quarter-mile in a swift :22.43.

Speed Shopper subsequently endured a tough trip in the Orchid (G3). After saving ground, she lacked racing room around the final turn and got shuffled back significantly at the top of the stretch. Nevertheless, she rallied resolutely once clear, getting her final quarter-mile in :22.16 to finish third by one length.

Drawing the far outside post in the Bewitch should allow Speed Shopper to stay out of traffic and produce a winning run under Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez. We recommend singling the five-year-old mare in the Pick 6.

Speed Shopper isn’t the only viable single in the Pick 6 sequence. In Race 9, a maiden special weight for three-year-olds dashing six furlongs on dirt, #5 Mumdoggie (3-1) looks ready to shine.

Mumdoggie finished third, fifth, and second in his first three starts over this class level, earning respectable Brisnet Speed ratings of 86, 80, and 87. None of the other experienced horses in Race 9 have earned a Brisnet Speed rating higher than 80, so a peak performance from Mumdoggie should make him tough to beat.

There’s no reason to think Mumdoogie won’t bring his A game to Keeneland. On March 15, in his first start of 2026, Mumdoggie produced a career-best performance, rallying sharply to finish second by 1 1/2 lengths in a six-furlong maiden special weight at Oaklawn. The distant third-place finisher returned to win his next start over the same track and class level, flattering Mumdoggie’s form.

We anticipate Mumdoggie will run as well or better in his second start of the season, cementing the bay colt as a logical Pick 6 single.

Good luck!