Picks for Los Alamitos $114,292 Pick 5 and $19,305 Pick 6

The Saturday card at Los Alamitos features two enticing non-jackpot carryovers for bettors to pursue.

The 50-cent Pick 5 starts in Race 1 (post time 4:00 p.m. ET) and features a $114,292 carryover. Meanwhile, the $2 Pick 6 gets underway in Race 4 (post time 5:35 p.m. ET) and boasts a $19,305 Pick 6 carryover.

We’ve analyzed the card and identified horses to play in a handful of races:

Race 3: $6,250 Claiming (one mile on dirt)

#2 Mongolian Altai (6-5) looks like a viable single in the middle leg of the Pick 5. He’s dropping sharply in class after finishing second and fourth in $25,000 claimers over the Santa Anita turf.

Mongolian Altai also has solid dirt form on his record. Back in March, he finished second by a head in a seven-furlong $32,000 claimer at Santa Anita. Mongolian Altai holds a Brisnet Speed rating edge against Saturday’s field and should be tough to beat while tackling easier competition.

Race 4: $12,500 Maiden Claiming (one mile on dirt)

The opening leg of the $2 Pick 6 is the penultimate leg of the Pick 5, so it’s an important race to solve if you want to earn shares of the carryovers.

#5 Lady Lollipop (8-5) is the morning-line favorite while plunging in class out of two $50,000 maiden claimers. But running long on dirt is a new challenge, and her pedigree is geared a bit more toward speed than stamina. Even though she’s a short price on the morning line, Lady Lollipop doesn’t look like a single candidate.

We suggest using #4 Japhar’s Girl (5-1) as backup on Pick 5 and Pick 6 tickets. She has some early speed and placed third in a one-mile $20,000 maiden claimer at Santa Anita two starts back, so dropping in class should help her chances.

Race 5: Maiden Special Weight (five furlongs on dirt)

The Pick 5 and Pick 6 also overlap in Race 5, a maiden special weight for California-bred two-year-old fillies.

None of the first-time starters appear especially likely to win, so we’ll favor a pair of experienced runners. #7 Final Table Lady (9-5) finished third in her debut over this track, distance, and class level at Santa Anita two weeks ago, earning a 69 Brisnet Speed rating that tops this field.

#3 Jasmina (2-1) wasn’t as competitive when finishing fifth in her debut, but that was a non-state-restricted maiden special weight taking place over five furlongs on turf. Switching to dirt and dropping into the California-bred ranks could trigger improvement.

Race 8: Los Alamitos Derby (1 1/8 miles on dirt)

The feature event on the card is the $100,000 Los Alamitos Derby. Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert has won the last five editions of this race, and he trains three of the five horses in Saturday’s renewal.

#5 Nevada Beach (1-1) is the heavy favorite after winning his debut and finishing second in the Affirmed S. at Santa Anita. He lost the latter race by only 1 3/4 lengths to Grade 1 winner Gaming.

But don’t dismiss #2 Tiz Secure (7-2). He debuted in a six-furlong maiden special weight at Santa Anita, romping by 4 3/4 lengths over a couple of next-out winners. Last time out, he ran third in a tough $125,000 allowance optional claimer at Churchill Downs, earning a strong 101 Brisnet Speed rating. Tiz Secure has since been gelded and could be a formidable win threat in his return to California.

Good luck!