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Full fields set for mandatory payout of Empire 6 on Closing Day, Sunday, November 1

by Ryan Martin

Sunday's Closing Day card will feature a mandatory payout of the Empire 6, which boasts a jackpot of $323,605 heading into Friday's 10-race card at Belmont Park.

Live coverage of all the races in the sequence will be available with America's Day at the Races on FOX Sports and MSG+. Free Equibase-provided past performances will be available for races that are part of the America's Day at the Races broadcast and can be accessed at https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule.

Sunday's Empire 6 sequence kicks off in Race 4 [1:45 p.m.], a six-furlong $16,000 claiming event on the main track for New York-bred fillies and mares 3-years-old and upward. Highlander Training Center's speedy Charlotte Webley will gain class relief for trainer Jeremiah Englehart two starts after breaking her maiden at Belmont Park. Trainer Brad Cox sends out Circle B Racing's Cruising Strong, who arrives off an eight-month layoff seeking her second career victory.

New York-bred juvenile colts will square off for Race 5 [2:18 p.m.], a one mile maiden special weight over the main track. After two runner-up efforts, trainer Leah Gyarmati sends out Robert Brooks' Work Out, a son of first-crop stallion Outwork who was recently beaten 1 ¼ lengths going 6 ½ furlongs at Saratoga. Trainer Jonathan Thomas will debut Bloom Stable and Madaket Stables' Polpis - a dark bay son of Orb out of the Forest Wildcat mare Falconess - a half-sister to graded stakes winner Spice Island.

Action switches to the inner turf for the third leg of the sequence - a 1 1/16-mile $30,000 claiming event, carded as Race 6 [2:50 p.m.]. Mathis Stable's One Eyed Jack removes the blinkers for his turf debut after a distant fifth over a muddy main track at Saratoga. Alifyfe Racing's Beachside will attempt to parlay a strong runner-up effort on September 26 over the Widener turf into a victory for trainer David Donk.

The $80,000 Pumpkin Pie, at seven furlongs on Big Sandy for fillies and mares, begins the second half of the sequence. Larry R. Johnson's Never Enough Time will seek a third consecutive victory following triumphs in her native Maryland in the Alma North at Laurel Park and the Skipat at Pimlico. Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott sends Alisio off a 10-month layoff after a runaway victory in a second-level allowance event on December 30 at Aqueduct. The Godolphin homebred daughter of Ghostzapper makes her stakes debut in Sunday's event, carded as Race 7 [3:25 p.m.].

The penultimate leg will be the $80,000 Chelsey Flower for juvenile fillies going 1 1/16 miles over the Widener turf in Race 8 [3:55 p.m.], where Lovestruck makes her stakes debut after an impressive maiden victory on September 7 at Saratoga for Mott. The daughter of Tapit is a half-sister to multiple Grade 1-winner and multiple champion producer Scat Daddy. Trainer Chad Brown sends out Head of Plains Partners' Fluffy Socks, winner of the Selima on October 3 at Pimlico last out; as well as Don Alberto Stables' Ingrassia, who was a recent third in the Grade 3 Jessamine on October 7 at Keeneland.

Rounding out the sequence is a field of a dozen New York-bred fillies and mares in the final race in 2020 at Belmont Park, a six-furlong allowance over the main track, carded as Race 9 [4:25 p.m.]. Trainer Bruce Levine will saddle Impazible Donna for Flying P Stable after a third-out maiden win on October 4. Darlene Bilinksi and Harry Patten's Honey Money will make her first start since March 14 at the Big A, where she was a six-length winner at second asking for trainer Linda Rice.

The Empire 6 requires the bettor to select the first-place finisher of the final six races of the card. On non-mandatory payout days, if one unique ticket exists, then 100 percent of the net pool, plus the jackpot carryover if applicable, will be paid to the winner. If there is no unique wager selecting the first-place finisher in all six races, then 75 percent of the day's net pool will be distributed to those who selected the first-place finisher in the greatest number of races. The remainder will be added into the jackpot and carried to the next day's Empire 6.

Closing Day of the Belmont fall meet will also feature mandatory payouts for both the Early Pick 5 and Late Pick 5 wagers. First post on Sunday's nine-race card is 12:15 p.m.

Live racing will then move to Aqueduct Racetrack for the 18-day fall meet, featuring 29 stakes, including 11 graded events, worth $3.41 million in purse money, which will kick off on Friday, November 6 and run through Sunday, December 6.

For more information on the Empire 6, please visit http://www.nyrabets.com.

Empire 6 - Sunday, November 1:
Leg 1 - Race 4 (1:45 p.m.)
Leg 2 - Race 5 (2:18 p.m.)
Leg 3 - Race 6 (2:50 p.m.)
Leg 4 - Race 7 $80,000 Pumpkin Pie (3:25 p.m.)
Leg 5 - Race 8 $80,000 Chelsey Flower (3:55 p.m.)
Leg 6-  Race 9 (4:25 p.m.)