Friday’s Best Bets and Quick Picks: Snowyte can strike at Tampa

Handicapper J. Keeler Johnson shares best bets and quick picks for Friday, Jan. 30 at Tampa Bay Downs and Fair Grounds, along with horses to use in Laurel Park’s $9,823 Pick 5 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.

Today’s TwinSpires tournaments include:

• $70 Tampa Bay Downs Challenge
• $100 Tampa Bay Downs Feeder to 2/6 Oaklawn Southwest Showdown
• $240 Fair Grounds Bonus Feeder Friday to 1/31 Tampa Bay Downs KDBC Qualifier

Best Bets and Quick Picks

Tampa Bay Downs: Race 8: $16,000 Allowance Optional Claiming (one mile and 40 yards on dirt, 4:05 p.m. ET)

#7 Snowyte (6-5), runner-up in the 2024 Frizette (G1), is slowing rounding back into form. At Monmouth Park last summer, she wired a one-mile maiden special weight by 5 1/4 lengths. Then in the fall at Keeneland, she ran second in a 1 1/16-mile allowance at Keeneland, beaten only by a next-out winner while earning a career-best 92 Brisnet Speed rating.

This $16,000 allowance optional claimer at Tampa looks like the perfect spot for Snowyte to snag her second career win. She towers over the field in terms of recent Brisnet Speed rating, and trainer Danny Gargan wins at a solid 19% rate with horses returning from layoffs of 90 days or more.

Let’s single Snowyte to start a double wager, then key her over #6 Wits and Wagers (5-1) in an exacta.

Selections

• #7 Snowyte (6-5)
• #6 Wits and Wagers (5-1)
• #10 Mila Junes (8-1)

Wagers

• $18 Exacta: 7 with 6
• $12 Double: 7 with 4
  Total: $30

Fair Grounds: Race 6: $50,000 Allowance Optional Claiming (one mile on dirt, 4:15 p.m. ET)

#1 Thrill Seeker (2-1) opened her career with a gate-to-wire win in a six-furlong maiden special weight at Fair Grounds. Then in the Louisiana Champions Day Lassie S. over the same track and distance, she set blazing fractions of :21.79 and :45.23 before staying on to finish second behind undefeated three-time stakes winner Little Miss Curlin.

If Thrill Seeker is able to set a slower pace while stretching out over one mile, she may prove difficult to catch. Her pedigree suggests the longer distance won’t be an issue.

Runaway Fair Grounds maiden winner #4 Whtruwearingrlfrnd (8-5) can complete the exacta.

Selections

• #1 Thrill Seeker (2-1)
• #4 Whtruwearingrlfrnd (8-5)
• #3 Braken Poppa (3-1)

Wagers

• $15 to win on #1 Thrill Seekers
• $15 Exacta: 1 with 4 
  Total: $30

Tampa Bay Downs: Race 9: Maiden Special Weight (1 1/16 miles on turf, 4:40 p.m. ET)

#4 Up for an Oscar (2-1) misfired in a recent one-mile maiden special weight at Gulfstream Park, finishing 10th. But two starts back, he ran third in a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight at Aqueduct, beaten only half a length while earning a sharp 84 Brisnet Speed rating.

A return to that level of form would make Up for an Oscar a formidable win threat at Tampa Bay Downs, where trainer Chad Brown has compiled a strong 12-4-2-3 (33%) record this meet.

We’ll single Up for an Oscar to conclude our double wager from Race 8, then bet him over #8 Three Percent (9-2) and #10 Doc Bovie (8-1) in an exacta.

Selections

• #4 Up for an Oscar (2-1)
• #8 Three Percent (9-2)
• #10 Doc Bovie (8-1)

Wagers

• $7 Exacta: 4 with 8,10 ($14)

Carryover Watch

Laurel Park: Race 6: $9,823 Pick 5 carryover (2:28 p.m. ET)

Winter weather has forced the cancelation of racing at many tracks across the country this week. But if Laurel Park is able to conduct their Friday card as scheduled, bettors will be able to chase a $9,823 carryover in the 50-cent Late Pick 5.

One of the trickiest legs of the sequence to handicap is Race 7, a $40,000 maiden claimer for three-year-old fillies sprinting seven furlongs on dirt. Some bettors may feel inclined to single #2 My Girl Back Home (3-2), who ran second in a six-furlong dash over this track and class level on Dec. 19. But she was fading down the homestretch, running her final furlong in :14.82, so stretching out over seven furlongs is a question mark.

We suggest leaving My Girl Back Home off your tickets in favor of #4 Campaign Mischief (5-1) and #6 Hoof and Boots (6-1).

Campaign Mischief earned a decent 67 Brisnet Speed rating when rallying to finish third on debut in a $15,000 maiden claimer at Turfway Park. Switching from Tapeta to dirt for her second start may unlock a winning effort.

Meanwhile, Hoof and Boots exits a pacesetting runner-up finish in a $25,000 maiden claimer at Laurel Park. She earned a 74 Brisnet Speed rating (higher than My Girl Back Home’s career-best 69) and may be able to challenge even while stepping up in class. Take note, the winner of that $25,000 maiden claimer—Barbados Bulldog—returned to dominate her next start in a $20,000 claimer.

Tournament Watch

$100 Tampa Bay Downs Feeder to 2/6 Oaklawn Southwest Showdown
$70 Tampa Bay Downs Challenge

The Friday card at Tampa Bay Downs is the focus of two tournaments on TwinSpires.com.

Both tournaments require bettors to wager the entirety of a $50 bankroll across at least five races at Tampa Bay Downs (minimum $5 in a given race for the $100 Tampa Bay Downs Feeder tournament). The Challenge tournament awards cash prizes; the Feeder tournament will award one or more entries into the Feb. 6 $1,000 Oaklawn Southwest Showdown tournament, provided there are at least 20 entries in the Feeder.

We’ve already outlined wagers involving Race 8 and Race 9 at Tampa Bay Downs, the final two events on the card. If you wish to start your tournament play early in the afternoon, try betting #2 Jokes Up (8-5) on top of an exacta in Race 1, a $5,000 claimer for fillies and mares sprinting six furlongs on dirt.

Two starts back, Jokes Up rallied to win a 5 1/2-furlong $5,000 claimer at Tampa with a flashy 77 Brisnet Speed rating. Last time out, she didn’t get the clearest run when finishing fifth (beaten only 2 1/2 lengths) in a six-furlong $6,250 claimer over the same track.

Dropping back down to the $5,000 level should make Jokes Up tough to beat under Tampa’s runaway leading jockey Samuel Marin. For second place, use #1 Racetothefinish (5-2) and #7 Mt. d’Oro (9-2).

• Race 1: $10 Exacta: 2 with 1,7 ($20)

Good luck!