Sam Houston Race Park opened its 2021 season Friday, and on Saturday will be rolling over a $51,876 carryover in the Space City Jackpot Pick 6 bet. The money was left from last March when the meet abruptly ended due to the pandemic, and Saturday’s Pick 6 will feature a mandatory payout (does not require a single-ticket winner).

Selections provided by the 1/ST BET app measure each contender against the 10 leading factors for each race. The 1/ST BET app looks at 52 handicapping factors and more than 200,000 past races to determine its AI selections. You can use the automated handicapping factors, or create your own factor filters to incorporate angles you prefer. We’ve included the official track morning line odds with the selections.

RACE 5 (9:33PM ET) // CLAIMING // 1 1/16 MILES (TURF)

#8 RICK’S RAIDER (20-1) // 24% Win
#10 SLEW TANG CLAN (20-1) // 14% Win
#2 FLEXATI (8-1) // 14% Win
#1 (BOURBON WISDOM (8-5) // 13% Win
Notes: Longshots abound from the algorithm, which welcomes back RICK’S RAIDER from a nearly 4-year layoff as the 1/ST BET top choice. You’ll obviously want to tread cautiously and include others, where prices continue among the top picks. Strong morning line favorite BOURBON WISDOM has more recent form with 4 top-3 finishes since October.

RACE 6 (10:00PM ET) // OPTIONAL CLAIMING // 5 1/2 FURLONGS

#2 LUCKY PROMISE (9-2) // 27% Win
#6 ULTIMATE (2-1) // 19% Win
#5 TAPPED TO THE MAX (3-1) // 15% Win
#1 BOBBY BRINKLEY (7-2) // 12% Win
Notes: The top choice LUCKY PROMISE is a very healthy price for high-percentage trainer Austin Gustafson and finished second at Remington Park behind BOBBY BRINKLEY. Both appear contenders here, along with Steve Asmussen’s Kentucky invader ULTIMATE.

RACE 7 (10:27PM ET) // MAIDEN SPECIAL WEIGHT // 6 FURLONGS

#1 VEGAS GUY (1-1) // 30% Win
#5 TIZTRUCULENT (8-1) // 17% Win
#2 NEW DICE (20-1) // 11% Win
#4 HE’S A BOMB (15-1) // 10% Win
Notes: Logical Pick 6 single VEGAS GUY has the 1/ST BET highest win projection in the sequence at 30% and the largest spread to the second choice at 13 points. High-percentage trainer Robertino Diodoro brings this one in from Kentucky, and was a debut runner-up at Keeneland. First-time starters are under-valued by the AI picks due to insufficient data, but BEAR BRIAN and BURNZ DA BOSS are rookies to consider in the event the favorite does not compete.

RACE 8 (10:54PM ET) // OPTIONAL CLAIMING // 6 FURLONGS

#4 VERRAZANO FIRST (9-5) // 27% Win
#3 JC’S NIGHTCAP (7-2) // 19% Win
#7 IMPACT PLAYER (5-2) // 15% Win
#6 GOLD CRUSHER (8-1) // 11% Win
Notes: Top 1/ST BET choice and morning line chalk VERRAZANO’S FIRST looks for his fifth straight win. He won 4 in a row in Chicago before being claimed by mid-south regional stalwart Karl Broberg. This one could be another potential single.

RACE 9 (11:21PM ET) // OPTIONAL STARTER // 5 1/2 FURLONGS

#7 BOURBON COWBOY (7-2) // 27% Win
#2 ONOMATOPOEIA (5-2) // 18% Win
#8 MINER HEAT (6-1) // 14% Win
#1 COCO TIGER (10-1) // 12% Win
Notes: 9-year-old veteran BOURBON COWBOY comes off a victory and will be making his local debut. He’s 1 of 3 last-out winners in a competitive lineup of 8. This may be a race to get a little extra coverage. The algorithm longshot COCO TIGER adds blinkers for a good barn and returns to his preferred dirt footing.

RACE 10 (11:48PM ET) // MAIDEN SPECIAL WEIGHT // 6 FURLONGS

#2 CATCH THE DEVIL (5-2) // 25% Win
#4 MY GOLDEN BLING (7-2) // 16% Win
#3 BUBBLE LINE (15-1) // 12% Win
#6 JAN’S TAPIN GO (10-1) // 7% Win
Notes: While the 25% win projection for CATCH THE DEVIL might be a few points lower than some of the others in the Pick 6 sequence, consider this is a 14-horse field. That’s a significant number and 9-point spread to second choice MY GOLDEN BLING. The large fields are where many players spread their options. If you can focus here on 1 or 2 runners and connect, you reduce your ticket costs greatly. Of the first-time starters not represented in the AI picks, TURNIN AND BURNIN figures most prominently.