​Saturday’s all-stakes Cross Country Pick 5 features action at the Big A and Tampa Bay Downs

by Keith McCalmont

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) will host an all-stakes Cross Country Pick 5 on Saturday, featuring Kentucky Derby qualifiers from Aqueduct Racetrack and Tampa Bay Downs.

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 begins at 4:25 p.m. Eastern at Tampa Bay with the Grade 2 Hillsborough, a nine-furlong turf test for older fillies and mares headlined by last year’s Grade 1 Belmont Oaks Invitational-winner Magic Attitude. The 4-year-old Galileo bay, trained by Arnaud Delacour for Lael Stables, will face steep opposition from Grade 1-placed opponents Micheline and Court Return.

Action then switches to the Big A for the Heavenly Prize Invitational [Race 8, 4:36 p.m.], a one-turn mile for older fillies and mares featuring a well-balanced field of eight. Godolphin homebred Lake Avenue, a 4-year-old Tapit chestnut trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, has won 2-of-3 starts at Aqueduct, including a score in the 2019 Grade 2 Demoiselle. Trainer Juan Carlos Guerrero sends pace threat Portal Creek, who just missed in the Grade 3 Go for Wand two starts back when second to Sharp Starr over a sloppy and sealed Aqueduct main track at the Heavenly Prize distance.

The middle leg will see sophomore fillies contest 1 1/16-miles on the Tampa Bay turf in the Grade 3 Florida Oaks [Race 10, 4:55 p.m.]. Delacour and Lael Stables team up once more with the multiple stakes placed Be Sneaky, who makes her turf debut following a runner-up effort in the Suncoast on February 6. Be Sneaky, an Into Mischief bay, is out of the Big Brown mare Bella Castani who won the 2013 Tweedside on the Belmont turf.

Four-time Eclipse Award winning trainer Chad Brown will saddle Domain Expertise, fresh off a third in the Grade 3 Sweetest Chant at Gulfstream Park; while Graham Motion will send out a pair of undefeated contenders in Mia Martina and Oyster Box, a royally-bred daughter of Tapit out of the multiple graded stakes-winning Dynaformer mare Starformer.

Kentucky Derby points will be on the line in the penultimate leg, the Grade 3, $300,000 Gotham [Race 9, 5:07 p.m.] at a one-turn mile offering 50-20-10-5 points to the top-four finishers. Brown will send out a strong duo for Klaravich Stables in last-out Nyquist champ Highly Motivated and impressive maiden winner Crowded Trade. West Coast-based shippers include Freedom Fighter, runner-up last out in the Grade 2 San Vicente at Santa Anita for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert; and Wipe the Slate, a maiden winner who will remove blinkers and cut back in distance while looking to make amends for an off-the-board effort last out in the Grade 3 Robert B. Lewis at Santa Anita for trainer Doug O’Neill.

Closing out the sequence is the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby [Race 11, 5:25 p.m.], which drew a field of 12 to contest 1 1/16-miles with 50-20-10-5 Kentucky Derby qualifying points on the line.

The Mott-trained Candy Man Rocket will look to build on an impressive one-length score last out in the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis on February 6 at Tampa Bay Downs against returning rivals Hidden Stash [third] and Boca Boy [fourth]. Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse will saddle undefeated Helium, last out winner of the Display in October at Woodbine for his two-turn and dirt debut.

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 6:

Leg A: Tampa Bay Downs-Race 9, G3 Hillsborough (4:25 pm)

Leg B: Aqueduct-Race 8, Heavenly Prize Invitational (4:36 pm)

Leg C: Tampa Bay Downs-Race 10, G3 Florida Oaks (4:55 pm)

Leg D: Aqueduct-Race 9, G3 Gotham (5:07 pm)

Leg E: Tampa Bay Downs-Race 11, G2 Tampa Bay Derby (5:25 pm)