Saturday's Cross Country Pick 5 features graded stakes action from Belmont Park and Woodbine

by Ryan Martin

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) will again host a Cross Country Pick 5 on Saturday June 29, featuring graded stakes from Belmont Park and Woodbine Racetrack in Etobicoke, Ontario.

Woodbine will host the first two legs of the multi-track wager, both of which are graded stakes events over the turf at the Toronto oval. Kicking off the Pick 5 is the Grade 2, $175,000 Dance Smartly for fillies and mares, carded as Race 8 with a post time of 4:18 p.m. Eastern. Holy Helena, the 2017 Queen's Plate winner, will return to Woodbine for the 1 ¼-mile event after finishing third last year for trainer Jimmy Jerkens.

The next leg is the Grade 1 Highlander for older horses going six furlongs on the grass. Scheduled as Race 9 with a 4:51 p.m. post time, the Highlander features Christophe Clement trainee White Flag shipping from Belmont as he returns to action following a five-month layoff. The son of War Front seeks his first graded stakes victory.

Action then shifts to Belmont for the middle leg, with the Grade 2, $250,000 Mother Goose. Peter Brant's Dunbar Road - a two-time winning daughter of Quality Road - is favored in the 1 1/8-mile event for 3-year-old fillies over the main track. Jeltrin, seeking a second graded stakes victory, will also compete after running third in the Grade 1 Acorn on June 8. Carded as Race 8, the Mother Goose has a 5:18 p.m. scheduled post time.

The Cross Country Pick 5's penultimate leg will showcase Canada's crown jewel - the $1 million Queen's Plate for Canadian-bred 3-year-olds over Woodbine's all-weather surface. Avie's Flatter, the Grade 3 Transylvania winner, is the 5-2 morning line favorite for the first leg of the Canadian Triple Crown. Post time for the Queen's Plate is 5:36 p.m. and will go off as Race 10.

A field of eight fillies and mares 3-years-old and up will conclude the wager at Belmont in Race 9 in a starter allowance race over the inner turf. Funny Money Honey, who was an impressive 6 ½ length winner two starts back over Belmont Park's inner turf, headlines the field for trainer Charlton Baker. Post time is 5:51 p.m.

The minimum bet for the multi-track, multi-race wager is 50 cents. Wagering on the Cross Country Pick 5 is also available on track, on ADW platforms, and at simulcast facilities across the country. There will be a mandatory payout of the entire pool.

Belmont Park - Woodbine Cross Country Pick 5
Leg A: Woodbine-Race 8 - Grade 2 Dance Smartly (4:18 pm)
Leg B: Woodbine-Race 9 - Grade 1 Highlander (4:51 pm)
Leg C: Belmont Park-Race 8 - Grade 2 Mother Goose (5:18 pm)
Leg D: Woodbine-Race 10 - Queen's Plate (5:36 pm)
Leg E: Belmont-Race 9 (5:51)