Saturday’s Cross Country Pick 5 features racing action from Aqueduct and Oaklawn Park

by Ryan Martin

Free Equibase PPs available 

The New York Racing Association [NYRA] will host a Cross Country Pick 5 on Saturday featuring racing action from Aqueduct Racetrack and Oaklawn Park.

Live coverage will be available with America’s Day at the Races on FOX Sports. 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 sequence will commence at Oaklawn with the $500,000 Essex [Race 7, 4:08 p.m. Eastern], a 1 1/16-mile test for older horses. Multiple graded stakes winner Tax [14-4-3-1, $982,060] will look to secure millionaire status, seeking his fourth career stakes win for trainer Danny Gargan. The 5-year-old son of Arch, owned by R. A. Hill Stable, Reeves Thoroughbred Racing and Hugh Lynch, arrives off an unplaced effort in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park on January 23. Two starts back, Tax earned a career-best 105 Beyer Speed Figure for a gate-to-wire score in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 3 Harlan’s Holiday on December 12 at the South Florida oval.

Silver State provides steep opposition as the consistent son of Hard Spun seeks his fourth consecutive triumph for Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen. Last out, Silver State captured the Fifth Season at Oaklawn, a one-mile test for older horses on January 23.

Action shifts to the Big A for the second leg of the sequence when a field of eight older horses assemble for a 6 ½-furlong optional-claiming event in Race 8 with a 4:24 p.m. post. Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott will send out the consistent Secret Rules, who has never finished off the board in eight lifetime starts. The son of Secret Circle arrives off a third-place finish going six furlongs as the beaten favorite on February 15 at Aqueduct. McCourt Racing’s Big Engine faces open company after finishing second in the Hollie Hughes against his New York-bred counterparts. Trained by Linda Rice, the son of Not For Love boasts a consistent 19-7-6-2 lifetime record, having never finished worse than second at Aqueduct.

The third leg will switch back to Hot Springs, Arkansas for Oaklawn’s Race 8 [4:41 p.m.] – a six-furlong optional claiming event for older horses. Breaking from the rail for trainer Cipriano Contreras, One for Richie seeks a third straight win after previously racing for a $10,000 tag and tackling starter allowance company. Doubledown Stables’ Royal Daaher will attempt to keep his consistent ways afloat for trainer Jimmy DiVito. The son of Daaher has finished in the money in his last four starts, including the last two at Oaklawn over off tracks.

The penultimate leg will be Saturday’s featured event at Aqueduct – the $100,000 Correction for fillies and mares at seven furlongs. Hall of Famer Richard Mandella shipped in Amuse from southern California for her last start before retirement and a broodmare career. The daughter of Medaglia d’Oro has garnered stakes black type on four occasions but looks to become a stakes winner in her final career finale. Awesome Debate, bred, owned and trained by Charlton Baker, seeks her third triumph in a row in her stakes debut. The Correction is carded as Race 9 with a 4:55 p.m. post.

The $150,000 Temperence Hill going 12 furlongs at Oaklawn Park will conclude the sequence. A 10-horse field was drawn for the dirt marathon event, which attracted graded stakes winners Tenfold and Campaign. Trained by Asmussen and owned by Winchell Thoroughbreds, Tenfold, a son of Curlin, seeks his first win since taking the Grade 3 Pimlico Special in 2019. Woodford Racing’s Campaign was a late-closing second in last year’s Temperence Hill over a sloppy and sealed track. The Temperence Hill, carded as Oaklawn’s ninth race, has a scheduled post of 5:13 p.m.

The minimum bet for the multi-track, multi-race wager is 50 cents. Wagering on the Cross Country Pick 5 is also available on ADW platforms and at simulcast facilities across the country. Every week will feature a mandatory payout of the net pool. The Cross Country Pick 5 will continue each Saturday throughout the year. For more information, visit NYRABets.com.

Cross Country Pick 5 - Saturday, March 13:

Leg A: Oaklawn Park – Race 7, $500,000 Essex (4:08 p.m.)

Leg B: Aqueduct – Race 8 (4:24 p.m.)

Leg C: Oaklawn Park – Race 8 (4:41 p.m.)

Leg D: Aqueduct – Race 9, $100,000 Correction (4:55 p.m.)

Leg E: Oaklawn Park – Race 9, $150,000 Temperence Hill (5:13 p.m.)