Saturday is a big day at the Fair Grounds, which hosts a power-packed, 14-race program headlined by six stakes races.

Friday's free horse racing picks from handicapper Andrew Champagne comes to us from the late Pick Four at Sam Houston.

Saturday is Cal Cup Day at Santa Anita, and a number of stakes races have attracted some of the most talented state-breds on the circuit. The wagering menu features a mandatory payout in the Pick Six, which means potential spillover into the late Pick Four.

Friday’s late Pick Four sequence at Santa Anita is a tricky one. While some of the fields are a bit small, there aren’t many horses that figure to be short-priced favorites.

Saturday’s card at Gulfstream Park is still a fun one to bet on, despite the lack of a huge pool in the mandatory-payout Rainbow Six (which won’t happen due to a pool scoop on Friday). I’m focusing on the late Pick Four, which begins in the eighth of 11 races on the program, and I’ll attack it with a $30 ticket.

Sam Houston kicked off its 2022 meet Thursday, and handicappers should be paying attention. If you’re playing multi-race exotics, this is where you’ll get the most bang for your buck.

Friday is New Year’s Eve, and at Aqueduct, this means mandatory payouts in all multi-race exotic wagers. This may be most attractive to Pick Six players, but days like this benefit other sequences by osmosis, and I think the late Pick Four is a lot of fun.

Sunday is Opening Day at Santa Anita Park, and the track known as “The Great Race Place” will kick off its winter-spring meet with an 11-race program the day after Christmas.

Just because Friday is Christmas Eve doesn’t mean there’s a lack of horse racing on tap. Quite the opposite is true, actually, as Gulfstream Park will host a 10-race program capped off by a quirky, two-mile stakes race. Handicapper Andrew Champagne is here with his top picks.

Saturday's free horse racing picks from handicapper Andrew Champagne comes to us from the late Pick Four sequence at Gulfstream Park.