Aqueduct Live returns to MSG+ on Wood Memorial Day for coverage of four graded stakes

by NYRA Press Office

Wood Memorial to air nationally on NBC Sports Network

Highlighted by coverage and analysis of the Grade 1, $400,000 Carter Handicap at Aqueduct Racetrack, Aqueduct Live returns to the airwaves on Saturday from 3-5:30 p.m. (ET) on MSG+.

Aqueduct Live will provide live coverage of four graded stakes, starting with the Grade 2, $300,000 Gazelle for 3-year-old fillies. Carded as Race 6 on the Big A's stacked card, the Gazelle, which offers 170 total qualifying points for the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks, is set to go off at 3:38 p.m. Midnight Disguise, the 8-5 morning line favorite, will go for her third straight stakes win and first graded stakes victory in headlining a field of six.

Coverage will continue in Race 7 with the Grade 3, $150,000 Excelsior at approximately 4:11 p.m. Trainer Rudy Rodriguez will saddle three contenders - Control Group, Admiral Blue and Wild About Deb - in the seven-horse field for 4-year-olds and up going 1 1/8 miles.

Race 8 will feature the 118th running of the Carter at 4:44 p.m. Awesome Slew, most recently third in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, will launch his 5-year-old campaign against 10 opponents. A three-time graded stakes winner, Awesome Slew is the 121-pound high weight in the seven-furlong race for 4-year-olds and up.

Aqueduct Live's coverage will conclude with the Grade 3, $250,000 Bay Shore at 5:17 p.m. The lead-in race to the Grade 2, $1 million Wood Memorial will showcase a seven-horse field of 3-year-old sprinters taking center stage, led by 9-5 favorite Engage.

As part of a live national broadcast from 5:30-7:30 p.m. (ET), NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) will then provide coverage of the Wood Memorial, highlighted by Godolphin Racing's Enticed making his return to New York as the 6-5 favorite in a nine-horse field. Post time for the Wood Memorial is 5:55 p.m.

The 94th running of the 1 1/8-mile Wood Memorial is the final stop in New York en route to the "Run for the Roses" on May 5 at Churchill Downs. With 170 total qualifying points up for grabs as part of the official Road to the Kentucky Derby Championship Series, the Wood is worth 100 qualifying points to the winner, 40 points to second, 20 to third and 10 to fourth.

Wood Memorial Day also marks the return of the NYRA Bets Late Pick 5. The popular multi-race wager, available to NYRA Bets members across the country and to bettors in New York wagering on track or through a simulcast facility, features a low 15 percent takeout rate and $0.50 minimum bet. Covering the last five races of the day, the sequence will begin with the Excelsior in Race 7.

Through April 30, new NYRA Bets members can take advantage of a $200 sign-up bonus. Using the promo code SPRING, new members who wager $200 within the first 14 days of registration will earn an additional $200 to be credited to their account.

The 11-race Wood Memorial program will kick off at 1 p.m.