NYRA partners with Oaklawn Park and Tampa Bay Downs for Cross Country Pick 5

by NYRA Press Office

Free Equibase PPs now available for the Cross Country Pick 5
Cross Country Pick 5 to feature live on America's Day at the Races

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) will partner with Oaklawn Park and Tampa Bay Downs to host a Cross Country Pick 5 on Saturday, highlighted by the $100,000 Bernardini from Aqueduct Racetrack.

Free Equibase past performances for the Cross Country Pick 5 sequence are now available for download at https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/cross-country-wagers. The minimum bet for the multi-track, multi-race wager is 50 cents. Wagering on the Cross Country Pick 5 is also available on track, on ADW platforms, and at simulcast facilities across the country. Every week will feature a mandatory payout of the net pool.

Each leg of Saturday's Cross Country Pick 5 will air live on America's Day at the Races on FS2. The sequence begins at Tampa Bay Downs with a starter handicap at 4:13 p.m. Eastern. The nine-furlong starter handicap offers a field of 10 turfers led by 7-2 morning-line favorite Hope Again, who has posted a record of 13-6-2-2 for trainer Jose Delgado.

The action moves to the Big A for the second leg (Race 7, 4:20 p.m.) for a salty allowance event featuring a field of nine travelling a one-turn mile. The promising Freaky Styley, who graduated at the same distance in December for trainer Jorge Abreu, will make his seasonal debut as the likely favorite under hot rider Eric Cancel.

The third leg will switch to Oaklawn Park (Race 6, 4:39 p.m.) and feature a field of eight allowance optional-claiming sprinters led by the Brad Cox-trained Irish Mischief, who exits a runner-up effort in the American Beauty at the Hot Springs, Arkansas oval.

In the penultimate leg, Canadian-born trainer Rob Atras will send out a pair of top contenders in the $100,000 Bernardini (Race 8, 4:50 p.m.) from the Big A. Atras won the 2019 renewal with Royal Albert Hall and will be represented on Saturday by Dynamax Prime and Heavy Roller in the 1 5/16-mile stamina test.

The sequence concludes at Oaklawn Park (Race 7, 5:09 p.m.) with a contentious 11-horse field of older filly and mare sprinters. Leading contenders in the wide-open affair include 3-1 morning-line favorite Exchange West, runner-up last out after a slow start; Tiz a Goddess, a first-time starter for trainer Mike Maker listed at 7-2; and Shocking Fast, who makes her first start for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen after a pair of efforts in California for Bob Baffert.

The Cross Country Pick 5 will continue each Saturday throughout the year. For more information, visit NYRABets.com.

Cross Country Pick 5 - Saturday, February 27:
Leg A: Tampa - Race 8 (4:13 pm)
Leg B: Aqueduct - Race 7 (4:20 pm)
Leg C: Oaklawn - Race 6 (4:39 pm)
Leg D: Aqueduct - Race 8 - $100K Bernardini (4:50 pm)
Leg E: Oaklawn - Race 7 (5:09 pm)