Picks: $1,000 Keeneland tournament, $18,587 Oaklawn Pick 6

Handicapper J. Keeler Johnson shares horses to play in a $1,000 tournament at Keeneland and an $18,587 Pick 6 carryover at Oaklawn Park.

$1,000 Keeneland KDBC Qualifier tournament

The Sunday card at Keeneland is the focus of the $1,000 Keeneland KDBC Qualifier tournament on TwinSpires.com.

Players must wager their entire $500 bankroll across at least five races at Keeneland, with at least $50 in a given race required for it to count toward the five-race minimum. Multiple entries into the 2026 Kentucky Derby Betting Challenge (KDBC) are slated to be awarded to the top finishers.

We recommend tournament players spend some of their bankroll in Race 8, a maiden special weight for three-year-olds sprinting seven furlongs on dirt. #8 Civil Liberty (5-2), a Triple Crown nominee shipping in from California, looks like a dangerous win threat.

Civil Liberty competed twice at the Grade 1 level last year, finishing third in the Del Mar Futurity and fourth in the American Pharoah. He recently returned from a five-month layoff to finish second in a 6 1/2-furlong maiden special weight at Santa Anita, beaten only a neck by Crude Velocity, who returned to dominate his next start in a $50,000 allowance optional claimer.

Race 8 at Keeneland looks like an easier spot, so the stage is set for Civil Liberty to secure his first victory. We suggest betting him to win and keying him over first-time starters #2 Iconoclast (8-1) and #5 Symbol (15-1) in an exacta.

Keeneland Race 8 wagers

• $38 to win on #8 Civil Liberty
• $6 Exacta: 8 with 2,5 ($12)
  Total: $50

Oaklawn Park: Race 4: $18,587 Pick 6 carryover

There aren’t any stakes on the Sunday card at Oaklawn, but an $18,587 carryover in the $1 Classix Pick 6 nevertheless provides excitement and betting value.

The Pick 6 gets underway in Race 4 at approximately 3:26 p.m. ET. Race 4 is a $12,500 starter allowance for older horses sprinting six furlongs on dirt, and we recommend singling morning-line favorite #3 Prayforpeace (9-5).

Prayforpeace has been in hot form at Oaklawn. On Feb. 19, he rallied from midfield to win a six-furlong $10,000 claimer by 1 1/2 lengths. Then on March 13, he led all the way to cross the wire first by 4 3/4 lengths in a six-furlong $12,500 starter allowance, though he was ultimately disqualified to third place for interference.

Sticking to the same conditions should make Prayforpeace tough to beat on Sunday. It helps that there isn’t a ton of speed entered in Race 4, giving Prayforpeace a chance to shake loose on an easy lead.

Good luck!