Belmont Park, Oaklawn Park comprise Saturday’s Cross Country Pick 5

by Brian Bohl

The New York Racing Association Inc. [NYRA] will host a Cross Country Pick 5 on Saturday featuring three races from Belmont Park and two at Oaklawn Park.

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

Belmont will start the action in Race 7 at 3:48 p.m. Eastern with a seven-furlong allowance contest for New York breds 3-years-old and up on the Widener turf course. Trainer John Kimmel will send out the ultra-consistent Quickflash, who has a 1-5-2 record in nine career starts and has finished second or third in five of his last six starts dating to March 2020. Rudy Rodriguez will saddle 6-year-old veteran Bad Guy, who will be making his 48th career start overall. Bad Guy will be seeking his first win at Belmont in his 13th start but has finished second at the Elmont-based track on four occasions.

Oaklawn will host the second leg as an 11-horse maiden field will compete at 1 1/16 miles in Race 6 at 4 p.m. A slew of six-figured purchases will generate excitement at the Hot Springs, Arkansas track, including Hanks, who will be making his fifth career start and is entered off back-to-back runner-up efforts at Oaklawn. Hanks, a Runhappy colt purchased for $650,000 at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton New York Select Sale, is trained by William Martin, who also will send out Quality Run, a $425,000 purchase at the 2018 Keeneland September Sale. Unraced until his 4-year-old year, Quality Run ran second in his debut in February at Oaklawn before running fourth last out going 1 1/16 miles on a muddy and sealed track. Hall of Fame conditioner Steve Asmussen will see Caerus, bought for $250,000 at the 2019 Keeneland September Sale, look to break his maiden at third asking.

Action alternates back to Belmont for Race 8 at 4:19 p.m. for a six-furlong maiden race for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up contesting over the inner turf. Trainer Christophe Clement saw Quick Conversation run second in her debut on March 12 at Tampa Bay Downs, and the sophomore will ship in to New York after continuing to train in Florida at Payson Park. Trainer Chad Brown will send out Crowding Out, a $230,000 purchase at the 2020 OBS Sale, for her first start. The Street Boss filly had also been training at Payson Park before trekking north.

A six-furlong starter allowance race on Oaklawn’s main track will go off in Race 7 at 4:38 p.m. A dozen 4-year-olds and up includes Kitchen Fire, who earned a 93 Beyer Speed Figure last year and has compiled 10 victories in 37 previous starts. The John Cox trainee will face a field that includes Westfest, whose career-high Beyer is 96 and is back in Asmussen’s care after previously being transferred from the accomplished conditioner in 2020.

Belmont will close the sequence with a 6 1/2-furlong allowance optional claimer in Race 9 at 4:56 p.m. The race features some familiar faces on the NYRA circuit, with Three Technique entered for trainer Jeremiah Englehart. Three Technique competed in four stakes in 2020, running fourth in the Grade 2 Rebel at Oaklawn before running 10th in the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens in August at Saratoga and making his turf debut next-out at the Spa with a sixth-place effort in the Grade 3 Saranac. Pete’s Play Call, will run at Belmont after a successful winter at Aqueduct, where he won the Gravesend in January and ran second in the Grade 3 Toboggan and Caixa Eletronica. 

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, May 1:

Leg A: Belmont– Race 7 (3:48 p.m.)

Leg B: Oaklawn – Race 6 (4:00 p.m.)

Leg C: Belmont – Race 8 (4:19 p.m.)

Leg D: Oaklawn – Race 7 (4:38 p.m.)

Leg E: Belmont – Race 9 (4:56 p.m.)