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Saturday offers an all Grade 1 Cross Country Pick 5

by Brian Bohl

A Cross Country Pick 5 that encompasses five Grade 1 contests across Belmont Park and Keeneland Race Course will highlight exciting action on Saturday in a wager hosted by the New York Racing Association, Inc. 

Live coverage will be available with America's Day at the Races on FOX Sports and MSG Networks. 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.

Top-caliber racing will start at Belmont in Race 7 at 4:03 p.m. Eastern with the $250,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic for 3-year-olds and up going 1 1/2 miles on the Widener course. Grade 1-winning multimillionaires Channel Maker and Sadler's Joy will face one another for the 15th time, while 2-1 morning-line favorite Rockemperor will look to build on a last-out third-place effort to stablemate Digital Age in the Grade 1 Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic on September 5 at Churchill Downs. In his prior effort, he was second, beaten by a neck to stablemate Instilled Regard, in the Grade 1 Manhattan on July 4 at Belmont, earning a career-best 102 Beyer Speed Figure. New York-bred Cross Border, the winner of the Grade 2 Bowling Green on August 1 at Saratoga, also will contend in the seven-horse field.

Keeneland will host the first of its three races in the sequence with the $350,000 First Lady for fillies and mares 3-year-olds and up going one mile on the turf in Race 8 at 4:51 p.m. Trainer Chad Brown trains two of the field's six entrants for a race that is a "Win and You're In" qualifier to the Grade 1, $2 million Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf on November 7 at the same track, saddling 2019 champion grass mare Uni and Newspaperofrecord, winner of the 2018 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf. Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas will send out Crystal Lake, with the field also comprising Beau Recall, Dalika and Daddy Is a Legend.

Another Breeders' Cup qualifier will highlight the third leg back at Belmont, where a nine-horse field of sophomores will compete in the 71st running of the Grade 1, $250,000 Belmont Derby Invitational going 1 1/4 miles on the inner turf in Race 9 at 5:06 p.m. A spot in the Grade 1, $4 million Breeders' Cup Turf on November 7 will be on the line for a race that features the top-three finishers of the Saratoga Derby Invitational - Domestic Spending, Gufo and No Word - all returning for a rematch. The Brown-trained Domestic Spending, who outlasted the Christophe Clement-conditioned Gufo by a head in August, has three wins in four career starts. Other contenders include Mo Ready, South Bend, Pixelate, Venezuelan Hug, Moon Over Miami and Ajourneytofreedom.

Keeneland will conclude the wager with the final two legs, starting with the $400,000 Claiborne Breeders' Futurity for juveniles going 1 1/16 miles on the main track in Race 8 at 5:24 p.m. A spot in the Grade 1, $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile will be on the line, with Godolphin homebred Essential Quality, a winner on Kentucky Derby Day last month at Churchill Downs, headlining a nine-horse field. King Fury, trained by two-time Breeders' Futurity winner Kenny McPeek, was a 2 ¾ length debut winner going 1 1/16 miles on September 3.

The finale will be the $750,000 Shadwell Turf Mile for 3-year-olds and up in Race 10 at 5:57 p.m. Halladay, the winner of the Grade 1 Fourstardave this summer at Saratoga, will look for additional glory in a race that's an automatic qualifier to the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Mile on November 7, though Halladay earned a spot in the race with his last-out victory. Other contenders looking to punch a return ticket to Keeneland include Grade 1-winners Bowies Hero and Raging Bull, as well as Group 1-victors in Without Parole [Great Britain] and Ivar [Brazil].

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, October 3:
Leg 1 - Belmont, Race 7: G1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic (4:03 p.m.)
Leg 2 - Keeneland, Race 8: G1 First Lady (4:51 p.m.)
Leg 3 - Belmont, Race 9: G1 Belmont Derby Invitational (5:06 p.m.)
Leg 4 - Keeneland, Race 9: G1 Claiborne Breeders' Futurity (5:24 p.m.)
Leg 5 - Keeneland, Race 10: G1 Shadwell Turf Mile (5:57 p.m.)