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​Saturday’s Cross Country Pick 5 to feature racing from Aqueduct Racetrack, Keeneland and Oaklawn Park

by Mary Eddy

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) will host a Cross Country Pick 5 on Saturday with racing from Aqueduct Racetrack and graded stakes action from Keeneland and Oaklawn Park. 

The Cross Country Pick 5 requires bettors to pick the winner of five select races from tracks across the country. The minimum bet for the multi-track, multi-race wager is 50 cents. Wagering on the Cross Country Pick 5 is available on ADW platforms and at simulcast facilities across the country with each week featuring a mandatory payout of the net pool. The Cross Country Pick 5, boasting a low 15 percent takeout, offers sequences with races from Aqueduct Racetrack and partner tracks across the country.

The sequence kicks off at 4:34 p.m. Eastern in Race 7 at Aqueduct, a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight for New York-bred fillies and mares over the inner turf course. The overflow field of 12 includes the well-bred Inflationary Trend for four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown. The daughter of Mendelssohn is out of the wining Sky Mesa mare Flash Act, whose dam is the multiple graded stakes-winner Missy’s Mirage. Conditioner Christophe Clement will send out the pair of Orange Freeze, who finished third on debut in August at Saratoga Race Course, and Bomb Squad, who returns from a five-month layoff after finishing third in her debut over the Big A turf. 

The action switches to Keeneland for the second leg in Race 9 [5:16 p.m.], the Grade 3, $400,000 Lexington for sophomores. The 1 1/16-mile test is the final stop on the Road to the Kentucky Derby and awards 20-8-6-4-2 qualifying points to the top-five finishers. The Steve Asmussen-trained Disarm is currently in 26th place on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard after a last-out second-place finish in the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby behind the Louisville-bound Kingsbarns. A win in the Lexington would give the son of Gun Runner a total of 60 points and a guaranteed spot in the Derby field. 

Other contenders in search of their first graded stakes victory include Reinvest, who is undefeated through two starts for conditioner Timothy Hamm, impressive maiden winner Empirestrikesfast for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, and the talented duo of maiden winners Demolition Duke and First Mission for two-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox. 

The middle leg will see a field of 12, plus three also-eligibles, sprint six furlongs over the outer turf in Race 9 [5:38 p.m.], a maiden special weight for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up at the Big A. The Michael Stidham-trained Tufani makes her debut off an April 8 breeze over Fair Hill’s all-weather training track where she covered five-eighths in 1:01.40. The daughter of Distorted Humor is out of the Mineshaft mare Windhoek, a half-sister to stakes-winner South Andros, who produced graded stakes-placed Private Creed. Chad Brown will send up Accept the Outcome by way of Gulfstream Park on the heels of a game fourth-place effort on February 16 while the Bill Mott trainee Spelterini will look to graduate after three consecutive runner-up efforts and three other on-the-board finishes. 

The penultimate leg features Grade 1 action from Keeneland in Race 10 [5:48 p.m.], the $600,000 Jenny Wiley for older fillies and mares traveling 1 1/16 miles on the lawn. A talented duo loom large for Chad Brown in multiple Grade 1-winner In Italian and Grade 2-winner Speak of the Devil. In Italian makes her seasonal debut after finishing a pacesetting second in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf over the same course in November. The daughter of Dubawi won two Grade 1 events last year in the Diana at Saratoga and First Lady at Keeneland. Speak of the Devil returned from a nine-month layoff last out to finish a close fifth in the Grade 3 Honey Fox in March at Gulfstream. She won the Grade 2 Churchill Distaff Turf Mile last year at its namesake track. 

The talented field of nine also includes With The Moonlight, who has won two Group 2 events in her two outings this year for trainer Charlie Appleby; Pizza Bianca, winner of the 2021 Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf for conditioner Christophe Clement; and Skims, winner of the Grade 2 Sands Point in October at Belmont at the Big A for Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey. 

The sequence concludes at Oaklawn Park with the Grade 3, $500,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap [Race 9, 5:58 p.m.], a six-furlong test for older horses. The Chris Hartman-trained Tejano Twist scored a 1 1/2-length victory in the Grade 3 Whitmore last out over the Hot Springs oval and earned a 101 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort. The in-form son of Practical Joke has hit the board in each of his last six outings dating to September. 

The salty field of 10 includes Strobe, who has won 4-of-5 starts for Cox and earned a co-field-best 104 Beyer for a six-length optional claiming coup two starts back at Fair Grounds Race Course. Bill Mott trainee Candy Man Rocket looks to round back into graded form off two victories this season at Gulfstream Park, including a last-out score in the Gulfstream Park Sprint on February 25.

Free Equibase past performances for the Cross Country Pick 5 sequence will be available for download at https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/cross-country-wagers.

America's Day at the Races will present live coverage and analysis of the Aqueduct spring meet on the networks of FOX Sports. For the broadcast schedule and channel finder, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the best way to bet every race of the Aqueduct Racetrack spring meet. Available to horse players nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

Cross Country Pick 5 – Saturday, April 15

Leg A: Aqueduct Racetrack, Race 7 – MSW (4:34 p.m. Eastern)

Leg B: Keeneland, Race 9, G3 Lexington (5:16 p.m.)

Leg C: Aqueduct Racetrack, Race 9 – MSW (5:38 p.m.)

Leg D: Keeneland, Race 10 – G1 Jenny Wiley (5:48 p.m.)

Leg E: Oaklawn Park, Race 9 – G3 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap (5:58 p.m.)