OZONE PARK, N.Y. – A stakes-caliber turf sprint allowance caps Thursday’s eight-race card at Aqueduct and a pick six sequence that begins the program with a $66,705 carryover after the wager went unhit following Lord Miles’s $120.20 upset in Saturday’s Grade 2 Wood Memorial. The program begins at 1:20 p.m., the pick six starts on race 3 (2:24 p.m.) Led by Nothing Better, the top five finishers from last November’s $150,000 Aqueduct Turf Sprint Championship make their seasonable debuts in this six-furlong race, which drew 11 for the outer turf and three main-track-only entrants. Nothing Better, trained by Jorge Duarte Jr., won four of seven starts in 2022, beginning with an allowance race at Monmouth Park last May off a seven-month layoff. He won two stakes, including a front-running score in the Aqueduct Turf Sprint, also at six furlongs. He ended his campaign in the Janus Stakes at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 23, where he was beaten a head by the 10-time winner Belgrano. :: Take your handicapping to the next level and play with FREE DRF Past Performances - Formulator or Classic.  Duarte noted the Gulfstream course had taken some rain in the days leading up to that race. “He likes it firm, the way it’s playing at Aqueduct,” Duarte said. “This is a good starting point. He’s ready to go.” Turf racing began at Aqueduct last Friday and the course was indeed firm. With dry weather expected between now and Thursday that should continue to be the case. Trainer David Donk brings Thin White Duke and Yes and Yes, third and last in the Aqueduct Turf Sprint, back to the races in this spot. Thin White Duke had a solid 2022 campaign, winning three times, including the 5 1/2-furlong Lucky Coin Stakes at Saratoga. He raced mostly at two turns on turf last spring and early summer, including a win in a statebred allowance at Aqueduct before Donk cut him back to turf sprints at Saratoga. “He loved the 5 1/2,” Donk said. “Not many of them do, and it just helped him into being a better horse.” Jorge Vargas Jr. rode him in that statebred allowance victory last spring and rides him Thursday, Yes and Yes seems to prefer Belmont’s turf, having gone 3 for 3 over it last year. He sometimes is his own worst enemy at the start, Donk said. “Sometimes he stumbles at the break and he costs himself position,” Donk said. “He breaks kind of hard. It looks like a lot of pace and he’s pace. If there’s pace, that’ll help Duke.” Pace could also help Anaconda, second in the Turf Sprint. Trained by Joe Sharp, he has had two runs this year, at Santa Anita and Turfway Park. Slipstream took advantage of a fast pace to win the Grade 3 Futurity at Belmont in October 2021 and the Palisades Stakes at Keenland in April 2022. He finished 17th in the Group 1 Commonwealth at Royal Ascot last June and didn’t race again until a fourth in a two-turn allowance at Gulfstream on March 10. Christophe Clement trains both Slipstream and Voodoo Zip, a 6-year-old making his first start as gelding following a fifth-place finish in the Aqueduct Turf Sprint. “Slipstream had a good race first time back and I think has improved from the race,” said Clement, who added that Voodoo Zip was gelded because “he was always mentally very, very difficult horse to be around.” Straight Answer won a second-level allowance at Fair Grounds and figures to be another who will appreciate a solid pace. In the other pick six races: Race 3: Colloquy takes a drop in class for trainer Robert Falcone Jr., who has started 4 for 6 at the meet. Higher Quality returns from a layoff for Linda Rice. Race 4: Shasta Star is back at the $25,000 claiming level at which he won twice last year. Reigning Chick, Beautiful Karen, and Diva Banker are logical. :: Bet the races on DRF Bets! Sign up with code WINNING to get a $250 Deposit Match, $10 Free Bet, and FREE DRF Formulator.  Race 5: Liar’s Poker is back with New York-breds while returning from a layoff for Clement in this first-level allowance on turf. Citizen K and Noble Huntsman make their first start of the year, and both have won fresh. Race 6: Won an Award is a half-brother to Venetian Harbor – a Grade 2 winner on turf and dirt – and finished second on debut here last October for Duarte. Equal Protection and firster Sacred Rhyme are tough to leave off tickets. Race 7: Chasing Daylight was a sharp debut winner last June but hasn’t been seen since. She meets a modest group in her return for trainer Jorge Abreu. My First Love should appreciate getting back out to a mile, the distance of all four of her wins. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.