Monday’s Best Bets and Quick Picks: Mountaineer’s $1,550 Super High 5 carryover

Handicapper J. Keeler Johnson shares best bets and quick picks for Monday, April 20 at Thistledown, Will Rogers Downs, and Turf Paradise, along with a ticket for the $1,550 Super High 5 carryover at Mountaineer.

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:

• $40 Parx Challenge
• $80 Parx Feeder to 4/24 Keeneland Bonus Feeder
• $82 Mountaineer Bet and Set Feeder to 5/1 Kentucky Oaks Betting Challenge
• $40 Mountaineer Challenge

Best Bets and Quick Picks

Thistledown: Race 3: Allowance (six furlongs on dirt, 1:50 p.m. ET)

Trainer Robert Gorham enjoyed strong success during the early stages of the 2025 meet at Thistledown. He won with five of his first 13 starters, compiling a 38% win rate.

Perhaps Gorham can start the 2026 meet on a strong note with #4 Kiss Me Quick (7-2). She’s been running well against allowance company at Mahoning Valley, but three of her four career wins have come at Thistledown. In fact, she was one of Gorham’s winners early in the 2025 meet, taking an allowance for Ohio-breds.

Let’s try a win bet on Kiss Me Quick, along with a small exacta using #6 Lo Bug (2-1) for second place.

Selections

• #4 Kiss Me Quick (7-2)
• #6 Lo Bug (2-1)
• #2 Pounds in Town (5-1)

Wagers

• $24 to win on #4 Kiss Me Quick
• $6 Exacta: 4 with 6
  Total: $30

Will Rogers Downs: Race 1: $7,500 Maiden Claiming (six furlongs on dirt, 2:15 p.m. ET)

#4 Gospel Share (2-1) has spent her first seven starts competing against maiden special weight competition, recording a couple of top-three finishes at Remington Park. She’s versatile in terms of running style and should appreciate dropping in class for a $7,500 maiden claimer.

Let’s bet Gospel Share over #2 Braxton’s Girl (5-2) in an exacta. Braxton’s Girl exits a runner-up finish sprinting 5 1/2 furlongs over this track and class level.

Selections

• #4 Gospel Share (2-1)
• #2 Braxton’s Girl (5-2)
• #6 Great Thingstocome (3-1)

Wagers

• $20 Exacta: 4 with 2

Turf Paradise: Race 8: $6,250 Starter Optional Claiming (one mile on dirt, 7:44 p.m. ET)

#5 Little Trouble (1-1) has crossed the finish line first in six of his last seven starts. He’s been running in sprints as of late, but he’s also effective over one mile—in January, he trounced an $8,500 claimer by five lengths.

Little Trouble has early speed, brings strong Brisnet Speed ratings to the table, and should be tough to catch in this spot. #6 Always On Cay (4-1) and #1 Supermax (12-1) can chase him home.

Selections

• #5 Little Trouble (1-1)
• #6 Always On Cay (4-1)
• #1 Supermax (12-1)

Wagers

• $16 Exacta: 5 with 6
• $8 Exacta: 5 with 1
• $4 Trifecta: 5 with 6 with 1
• $2 Trifecta: 5 with 1 with 6
  Total: $30

Carryover Watch

Mountaineer: Race 8: $1,550 Super High 5 carryover (9:55 p.m. ET)

If you want to win a share of Monday’s $1,550 Super High 5 carryover at Mountaineer, you’ll have to select the top five finishers in an unusual race.

The prize pool is up for grabs in Race 8, a $10,000 claimer for three-year-olds and older horses sprinting two furlongs—a mere quarter of a mile!—on dirt.

Here’s how we’ll bet the Super High 5:

Wager

• $1 Super High 5: 5,9 with 5,9 with 4,6 with 1,2,4,6 with ALL ($60)

Since two-furlong races are all-out sprints from start to finish, we’ll favor horses who have consistently shown early speed.

First and foremost are #9 Cash Customer (9-5) and #5 Ee Yah (3-1), who were separated by a neck when running 1-2 in a $4,000 claimer over this track and class level on Dec. 1. Both typically race on or near the lead, and they’ve both run well in multiple two-furlong sprints at Mountaineer, so there’s a good chance they’ll run 1-2 again on Monday.

We would consider keying Cash Customer on top except for the fact he hasn’t run since December, and trainer Danny Bird wins at a modest 5% rate with horses returning from layoffs of 90 days or more. Ee Yah hasn’t run since December either, but trainer Crystal Richison strikes at a 13% rate with horses coming back from layoffs of 90 days or more, so there’s a chance Ee Yah will be sharper than Cash Customer on Monday.

Beyond the favorites, #4 Dadsnumbronehelpr (6-1) and #6 Whiskey Diamond (7-2) are logical contenders. Dadsnumbronehelpr has cracked the trifecta in seven straight 4 1/2-furlong sprints at Charles Town. He routinely presses the pace and may have enough speed to keep up while dashing two furlongs at Mountaineer.

Meanwhile, Whiskey Diamond has set the pace in nine of her last 10 starts. She’s led by daylight margins during the early stages of her last three sprints (including a 5 1/2-furlong allowance at Mountaineer) and should be right in the hunt while cutting back to two furlongs.

We’ll add #1 Emperorofthedark (10-1) and #2 Krusin Rocket (12-1) for fourth place on our tickets, then hit the “ALL” button for fifth place.

Good luck!