Friday’s Best Bets and Quick Picks: Two stakes at Remington

Handicapper J. Keeler Johnson shares best bets and quick picks for Friday, Nov. 7 at Churchill Downs and Remington Park, along with a horse to single in Laurel Park’s $13,371 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.
• Churchill Downs 1 million Points Late Pick 5 Hit It & Split It: Play the Late Pick 5 at Churchill Downs each Friday in November for a chance to split a 1 million rewards points daily prize pool.
• 5x Points at The Meadowlands: Receive 5x points on all wagers (excluding show bets) at The Meadowlands each Friday in November.

Today’s TwinSpires tournaments include:

• $100 Aqueduct Feeder to 11/16 Churchill Downs KDBC Qualifier
• $70 Churchill Downs Challenge
• $200 Churchill Downs Bonus Feeder Friday to 11/8 Churchill Downs CBC Qualifier
• $40 Remington Park Challenge

Best Bets and Quick Picks

Churchill Downs: Race 8: Maiden Special Weight (1 1/16 miles on dirt, 4:25 p.m. ET)

Three contenders loom as strong win contenders in this competitive maiden special weight for juveniles.

#12 Carson Street (7-2) exits a runner-up finish racing one mile at Churchill Downs, beaten two lengths by next-out Street Sense (G3) winner Incredibolt while earning an 82 Brisnet Speed rating.

#11 Grand Slam Sam (4-1) earned an eye-catching 89 Brisnet Speed rating when debuting with a second-place finish in a seven-furlong maiden special weight at Keeneland.

#2 Mesquite (9-2) finished sixth in his debut dashing six furlongs at Keeneland, but that was a deep field containing next-out Bowman Mill S. winner Gallivant (who finished third), and Mesquite earned a respectable 83 Brisnet Speed rating.

Let’s box these three in a trifecta.

Selections

• #12 Carson Street (7-2)
• #11 Grand Slam Sam (4-1)
• #2 Mesquite (9-2)

Wagers

• $5 Trifecta: box 2,11,12 ($30)

Remington Park: Race 6: Slide Show H. (one mile on dirt, 9:20 p.m. ET)

#1 Cyndi Loper (2-1) is unbeaten and unchallenged in two starts. She exits a 4 3/4-length win in the six-furlong Oklahoma Classics Lassie S. at Remington Park, and her pedigree suggests stretching out over one mile won’t be an issue.

Let’s key Cyndi Loper on top of a cold exacta using Oklahoma Classics Lassie S. runner-up #4 Lanaluah (7-2) for second place. The latter filly has cracked the exacta in three stakes and likewise has the pedigree to stretch out over one mile.

Selections

• #1 Cyndi Loper (2-1)
• #4 Lanaluah (7-2)
• #5 Easter Gift (4-1)

Wagers

• $25 Exacta: 1 with 4

Remington Park: Race 7: Don C. McNeill S. (one mile on dirt, 9:48 p.m. ET)

#1 Royalamerican (6-5) is a clear favorite after winning the Oklahoma Classics Juvenile S. by 3 1/2 lengths. But two starts back, he lost a maiden special weight to #7 Ztwentyeight (5-1), who looms as an intriguing challenger in the Don C. McNeill.

Ztwentyeight has early speed, and his pedigree is strong enough to suggest he’ll handle one mile. Take note, he’s a half-brother to Charlie’s to Blame, winner of the 1 1/16-mile Kitten’s Joy S. at Gulfstream Park.

Let’s try a win bet on Ztwentyeight, then bet him over Royalamerican in an exacta.

Selections

• #7 Ztwentyeight (5-1)
• #1 Royalamerican (6-5)
• #2 How About Bob (10-1)

Wagers

• $15 to win on #7 Ztwentyeight
• $10 Exacta: 7 with 1
  Total: $25

Carryover Watch

Laurel Park: Race 6: $13,371 Pick 5 carryover (2:22 p.m. ET)

No one solved the Late Pick 5 at Laurel Park last Sunday, so when racing resumes at the Maryland oval on Friday, the 50-cent wager will feature a non-jackpot $13,371 carryover.

Winning a share won’t be easy. The five races have drawn a combined 57 horses (averaging 11.4 per race), and only three of those are also-eligible entrants. Before scratches, there are 174,720 possible outcomes, a large number for a Pick 5.

If you’re looking for a single to build tickets around, our best recommendation is #4 Keen Surge (7-5) in Race 7, a $12,500 claimer for horses who have never won two races. The one-mile dirt race has drawn only eight entries, so it features the smallest field in the Pick 5 sequence.

Keen Surge has spent most of his career competing on turf. The stretch-running gelding broke his maiden in a $16,000 maiden claimer at Tampa Bay Downs and subsequently ran well in a $25,000 claimer for non-winners of two races at Pimlico, closing from a dozen lengths back to finish second by a nose.

But Keen Surge has also shown ability on dirt. In an off-the-turf $30,000 claimer for non-winners of two races at Colonial Downs, he rallied from last place to finish second, beaten only a neck while pulling seven lengths clear of the third-place finisher. That effort earned a career-best 86 Brisnet Speed rating, the highest number belonging to any horse entered in Race 7.

Trainer Emanuel Geralis wins at a 36% rate with horses switching from turf to dirt, so look for Keen Surge to produce a big effort in his return to dirt. We’re confident he’ll score his second career victory while dropping down to the $12,500 level.

Good luck!