Monday’s Best Bets and Quick Picks: Mandatory-payout Pick 6 at Mahoning

Handicapper J. Keeler Johnson shares best bets and quick picks for Monday, Nov. 24 at Zia Park, along with longshots to use in Mahoning Valley’s mandatory-payout $5,120 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.
• 5x Points at Woodbine Mohawk: Receive 5x points on all wagers (excluding show bets) at Woodbine Mohawk each Monday in November.

Today’s TwinSpires tournaments include:

• $40 Mahoning Valley Challenge
• $200 Mahoning Valley Feeder to 11/27 Churchill Downs CBC Qualifier
• $200 Mountaineer Feeder to 12/6 Remsen KDBC Qualifier

Best Bets and Quick Picks

Zia Park: Race 4: Peppers Pride New Mexico Classic S. (one mile on dirt, 3:26 p.m. ET)

#6 Matilda’s Mark (8-5) has obliterated her last three starts by margins of 4 1/2 lengths, 13 1/4 lengths, and 12 lengths. Along the way, she’s earned sharp Brisnet Speed ratings of 84, 88, and 87.

The way Matilda’s Mark has drawn off to win her recent sprint starts suggests she’ll enjoy stretching out over one mile, giving her a chance to upset established stakes star #2 Corrina Corrina (1-2).

Let’s bet Matilda’s Mark on top of Corrina Corrina in a cold exacta.

Selections

• #6 Matilda’s Mark (8-5)
• #2 Corrina Corrina (1-2)
• #5 Honky Tonk Honey (8-1)

Wagers

• $25 Exacta: 6 with 2

Zia Park: Race 5: Rocky Gulch New Mexico Classic S. (1 1/16 miles on dirt, 3:53 p.m. ET)

#4 Let Him Be (4-5) boasts a stellar 16-13-2-1 lifetime record. He’s won each of his last five dirt starts, and while he’s been sprinting of late, he’s won running long in the past. Stretching out over 1 1/16 miles shouldn’t be an issue.

Let’s bet Let Him Be over #1 Antonios Mark (3-1) in an exacta.

Selections

• #4 Let Him Be (4-5)
• #1 Antonios Mark (3-1)
• #6 Marking Canyon (9-2)

Wagers

• $25 Exacta: 4 with 1

Zia Park: Race 7: New Mexico Classic Lassie S. (six furlongs on dirt, 4:47 p.m. ET)

#2 Mark’s Sassy Girl (4-5) exits a third-place finish against males in the New Mexico State Fair Thoroughbred Futurity. She was beaten only 1 1/4 lengths while earning a career-best 79 Brisnet Speed rating.

Mark’s Sassy Girl’s lone start so far against fellow fillies yielded a blowout 5 3/4-length maiden special weight triumph over next-out winner #6 Country Club Crush (4-1), who is back for the New Mexico Classic Lassie. Let’s bet an exacta banking on Mark’s Sassy Girl and Country Club Crush to reprise their 1-2 finish.

Selections

• #2 Mark’s Sassy Girl (4-5)
• #6 Country Club Crush (4-1)
• #7 Caprock Cutie (9-2)

Wagers

• $25 Exacta: 2 with 6

Carryover Watch

Mahoning Valley: Race 5: $5,120 Pick 6 mandatory payout (1:52 p.m. ET)

Monday is a huge day of racing at Mahoning Valley. There are seven stakes on the agenda, and a $5,120 carryover in the 20-cent Buckeye Pick 6 is scheduled for a mandatory payout.

The all-stakes sequence gets underway in Race 5. To help boost the prospective payoff, here are a couple of double-digit longshots to include on your tickets:

Race 6: #2 Vdaytothetenacious (10-1)

The second leg of the Pick 6 is the Cardinal S., a six-furlong dirt dash. Many bettors figure to favor #5 Superwolf (5-2) and #3 Boots Malone (4-1), the 1-2 finishers in the Best of Ohio Sprint S. at Mahoning last month. Certainly they’re logical win contenders, but Vdaytothetenacious shouldn’t be underestimated at double-digit odds.

Vdaytothetenacious went unbeaten in four starts at Mahoning during the first quarter of 2025. Most notably, he smashed a pair of six-furlong allowance sprints by 7 1/4 lengths and 8 1/4 lengths, earning sharp Brisnet Speed ratings of 92 and 93.

Vdaytothetenacious recently returned from a long layoff with a fifth-place finish in a 6 1/2-furlong Belterra Park allowance. If he rebounds to peak form while returning to Mahoning Valley for his second start back, he can challenge for victory.

Race 9: #10 Taliesin (12-1)

In terms of Brisnet Speed ratings, one of the fastest horses entered in the six-furlong Cheryl S. White Memorial S. for three-year-old fillies is Taliesin. Two starts back, she posted a 98 Brisnet Speed rating when dominating a seven-furlong $16,000 allowance optional claimer at Parx by nine lengths.

It remains to be seen if Taliesin can reproduce her best form away from Parx, where all five of her wins have been achieved. But since running sixth in the Nov. 8 Pumpkin Pie S. at Aqueduct, she’s been transferred to the care of Saffie Joseph Jr., who strikes at a 31% rate with horses running for the first time under his care.

There’s enough to like about Taliesin to warrant including her in the Pick 6.

Good luck!