NYRA Triple Play features three turf tilts from Belmont Park

by Keith McCalmont

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) will offer a NYRA Triple Play wager on Sunday featuring three turf races at Belmont Park.

The NYRA Triple Play, a Pick 3 wager with a $3 bet minimum available exclusively to retail customers, has a takeout rate of 19 percent. Initially offered as the final three races on the Sunday card, the NYRA Triple Play will now feature three specially selected races.

Sunday’s sequence kicks off in Race 2 at 1:32 p.m. Eastern with a state-bred maiden special weight field of seven fillies and mares 3-years-old and up travelling six furlongs over the inner turf. Christophe Clement will send out a pair of top contenders in Coolcatsnkittens and Saratoga Gaze. The former, a sophomore daughter of Vancouver, closed to finish second at second asking in her seasonal debut May 27 in a six-furlong maiden claiming sprint on the Belmont turf. The latter, a 4-year-old Laoban dark bay, has hit the board in all three career starts, including a close third last out on November 21 sprinting six furlongs over the Aqueduct Racetrack turf.

The second leg will feature a field of 11 fillies and mares 3-years-old and up sprinting seven furlongs over the Widener turf in a $35,000 claiming tilt [Race 5, 3:03 p.m.]. A contentious group includes Translate, who makes her first start since finishing a close third in a six-furlong turf allowance on March 19 at Santa Anita for trainer Robert Falcone, Jr. Lionessofbrittany, trained and co-owned by Steve Klesaris, finished second last out in the five-furlong Melody of Colors in March 2021 over the Gulfstream Park turf. Summer At the Spa, trained by Michelle Nevin, offers recency while entering from a 1 3/4-length claiming score on May 22 over the Belmont turf, besting next-out allowance winner Tis a Pity.

Closing out the sequence in Race 9 at 5:12 p.m. is an overflow field of state-bred fillies and mares 3-and-up traveling one-mile over the Widener turf in a $40,000 maiden claiming event. The Barclay Tagg-trained Cupere, who finished off-the-board in a trio of maiden special weight starts on the turf, shows back-to-back bullet works as she drops for a tag for the first time. Our Jessica, a veteran of six starts, also makes her debut in the claiming ranks for red-hot conditioner David Donk. The Clement-trained Smokin’ Hot Kitty, who finished fifth in a pair of state-bred maiden turf sprints, will also attract attention in a field of 12 with many chances and four also-eligible entrants.

Featuring a $3 bet minimum, the NYRA Triple Play will cover three races on Sunday cards throughout the 44-day Belmont spring/summer meet. Each NYRA Triple Play will feature a mandatory payout of the net pool. Wagering on the NYRA Triple Play will be available on ADW platforms and at simulcast facilities across the country.

America’s Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the spring/summer meet at Belmont Park on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Belmont Park, and the best way to bet every race of the spring/summer meet. Available to horse players nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

NYRA Triple Play, Sunday, June 26:

Leg A: Belmont Park, Race 2, state-bred maiden (1:32 p.m.)

Leg B: Belmont Park, Race 5, claiming (3:03 p.m.)

Leg C: Belmont Park, Race 9, state-bred maiden claiming (5:12 p.m.)