Monday’s Best Bets and Quick Picks: $12,283 Pick 5 carryover at Turf Paradise

Handicapper J. Keeler Johnson shares best bets and quick picks for Monday, Feb. 9 at Sunland Park and Turf Paradise, including a horse to single in Turf Paradise’s $12,283 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.
• 15% Profit Boost Woodbine Mohawk: Receive a 15% boost (up to $25 per day) on your winning win, exacta, trifecta, and superfecta wagers at Woodbine Mohawk every Monday in February.
• Double Rewards Points at Miami Valley: Receive double rewards points on all wagers at Miami Valley each racing Sunday through Wednesday in February.

Today’s TwinSpires tournaments include:

• $40 Parx Challenge
• $160 Parx Feeder to 2/14 Risen Star KDBC Qualifier

Best Bets and Quick Picks

Sunland Park: Race 3: $20,000 Allowance Optional Claiming (6 1/2 furlongs on dirt, 3:17 p.m. ET)

Formerly based in California, #4 Final Storm (2-1) made his Sunland Park debut in the six-furlong Ft. Bliss S. on Jan. 18. He finished fifth by five lengths and earned an 83 Brisnet Speed rating, the highest last-out number belonging to any horse in Monday’s field.

In six starts throughout 2025, Final Storm earned Brisnet Speed ratings in the 83-95 range, so a typical performance should be good enough to win while dropping in class for hot trainer Justin Evans. Let’s bet Final Storm on top of an exacta using #1 Positivity (3-1) and #6 Listentothemusic (7-2) for second place.

Selections

• #4 Final Storm (2-1)
• #1 Positivity (3-1)
• #6 Listentothemusic (7-2)

Wagers

• $15 Exacta: 4 with 1,6 ($30)

Turf Paradise: Race 3: $15,000 Allowance Optional Claiming (5 1/2 furlongs on dirt, 4:07 p.m. ET)

#3 Fifth Street (7-2) hasn’t raced since 2024, and the long layoff is a question mark. But back in 2024, he was a capable dirt racer in California, finishing second in a $50,000 allowance optional claimer and in a $50,000 starter optional claimer while earning Brisnet Speed ratings of 87 and 90.

If Fifth Street recaptures that level of form in his return, he can make his Turf Paradise debut a winning one. Let’s bet him over #2 Tygra (5-2) in an exacta, then single him to start a double wager.

Selections

• #3 Fifth Street (7-2)
• #2 Tygra (5-2)
• #7 Chasing Rain (4-1)

Wagers

• $20 Exacta: 3 with 2
• $10 Double: 3 with 2
  Total: $30

Turf Paradise: Race 4: $40,000 Allowance Optional Claiming (6 1/2 furlongs on dirt, 4:37 p.m. ET)

#2 U. S. Army (6-1) has been running in route races as of late, but he’s also shown decent form sprinting. In 2024, for example, he won a six-furlong $50,000 allowance optional claimer at Remington Park before running third in the David M. Vance S. over the same track and distance.

Those efforts earned sharp Brisnet Speed ratings of 100 and 95. If U. S. Army posts a similar number while cutting back in distance at Turf Paradise, he can spring a mild upset. We’ll bet him to win and single him to conclude our double wager.

Selections

• #2 U. S. Army (6-1)
• #1 Lansdowne (5-1)
• #8 Mission Beach (4-1)

Wagers

• $20 to win on #2 U. S. Army

Carryover Watch

Turf Paradise: Race 4: $12,283 Pick 5 carryover (4:37 p.m. ET)

Winning a share of Monday’s $12,283 Pick 5 carryover at Turf Paradise will not be easy.

A challenging sequence is on the agenda. The five races have drawn a combined 51 horses before scratches, averaging 10.2 horses per race. It works out to 103,680 possible Pick 5 outcomes. Every race in the sequence contains at least eight horses, and finding a viable single isn’t easy.

That said, we’ll give it a try. In Race 8, a $6,250 claimer for fillies and mares sprinting 5 1/2 furlongs on dirt, #7 Gi Gis Map (4-1) is a compelling contender at enticing odds.

During the summer at Canterbury Park, Gi Gis Map performed respectable in a trio of $7,500 claimers, finishing second, third, and fourth. But she’s been even sharper since taking her game to Turf Paradise for red-hot trainer Robertino Diodoro, a 32% winner at the current Turf Paradise meet.

Indeed, Gi Gis Map led all the way to win a 6 1/2-furlong $4,000 claimer on Dec. 27, earning a 75 Brisnet Speed rating. Then on Jan. 22, she wired an identical race by 3 1/4 lengths, earning a career-best 76 Brisnet Speed rating.

Gi Gis Map’s greatest asset is arguably her early speed, and it should serve her well on Monday. Even though she’s facing 11 rivals, there isn’t an overabundance of speed entered in Race 8, so Gi Gis Map has a good chance to secure the early lead. That’s significant since pacesetters have won 39% of 5 1/2-furlong dirt sprints this meet.

There are other positives in Gi Gis Map’s corner as well. For example, she’ll be ridden for the second straight time by Orlando Mojica, a 24% winner at Turf Paradise this meet. Over the last two months, Mojica and Diodoro have gone 19-for-56 (34%) teaming up together.

Throw in the fact Brisnet statistics indicate horses breaking from posts 4-7 perform best in 5 1/2-furlong dirt sprints at Turf Paradise, and Gi Gis Map has a strong chance to deliver on expectations as a nice-priced Pick 5 single.

Good luck!