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Saturday’s all turf Cross Country Pick 5 to feature racing from Belmont Park and Horseshoe Indianapolis

by Keith McCalmont

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) will host an all-turf Cross Country Pick 5 on Saturday with racing from Belmont Park and Horseshoe Indianapolis.

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 Belmont Park and partner tracks across the country.
 
Saturday’s sequence kicks off in Race 7 at 2:25 pm. Eastern from Horseshoe Indianapolis as a field of 12 fillies and mares contest a one-mile starter optional-claimer led by Choctaw Bingo.
 
Trained and owned by Rey Hernandez, the 5-year-old Air Force Blue mare won three straight last summer at Horseshoe Indy, including a pair of one-mile turf tilts. She will be challenged by Peach Cobbler, a three-time winner for trainer Cheryl Winebaugh; and Social Engagement, a dual turf winner for conditioner Brendan Walsh.
 
Action switches to Belmont [Race 5, 2:37 p.m.] for a one-mile New York-bred maiden special weight featuring a full field of a dozen 3-year-olds and upward.

Leading the charge is the Christophe Clement-trained Ortus, who earned an 80 Beyer Speed Figure in a fourth-place debut on March 17 at Gulfstream Park. The runner-up of that event, Oglethorpe, graduated next out over the Keeneland main track.
 
First-time starter Holla At Your Boy, by Jimmy Creed, has fired off four straight bullet works at Fair Hill for trainer Keri Brion. The $27,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase is out of the Graydar mare Brooklyn Bites. Another firster, Malibu Mystery for trainer David Donk, is a half-sibling to dirt stakes winner Brenda’s Way and multiple stakes-placed Miss Mystique.
 
The middle leg returns to Horseshoe Indianapolis [Race 8, 3:15 p.m.] for a one-mile allowance featuring an overflow field of 3-year-olds and upward topped by Augustin Stable homebred Ski Patrol.
 
Trained by Jonathan Thomas, the 5-year-old Pioneerof the Nile gelding sports a ledger of 7-1-2-2 and enters from back-to-back runner-up efforts traveling one mile over the Gulfstream Park green. Opposition will be provided by the Rusty Arnold-trained Moms Moon, a maiden winner over the Gulfstream turf last January and the lightly-raced Cyclone Ranger, who steps up off a maiden claiming win for Walsh.
 
The final two legs will offer stakes tilts from Belmont, beginning with the $150,000 Elusive Quality [Race 8, 4:19 p.m.], a seven-furlong sprint for older horses over the Widener.
 
Donk will saddle turf sprint veterans Thin White Duke and Yes and Yes, the former of which enjoyed a close third in the Grade 3 Troy at Saratoga last summer ahead of a win in the Spa’s Lucky Coin. Yes and Yes won 3-of-8 starts last year and boasts a career record of 13-5-3-3 over the Belmont turf. A wide-open affair also includes Anaconda, who will look to slither up the rail from the inside post for trainer Joe Sharp and the consistent Voodoo Zip for Clement.
 
The sequence concludes with the Grade 2, $200,000 Fort Marcy [Race 9, 4:56 p.m.], a nine-furlong inner turf test for older horses led by the North American debut of Group 3-winner Ottoman Fleet for trainer Charlie Appleby.

A strong field includes multiple graded-stakes winning New York-bred City Man, who will look to surpass the $1 million mark in purse earnings. The Clement trainee makes his third Fort Marcy appearance. The Chad Brown-trained Rockemperor, a first-time gelding, also looks for his first Fort Marcy win in his third attempt. He captured the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational at Belmont in 2021 and added the Spa’s Grade 2 Bowling Green to his ledger last summer.

Free Equibase past performances for the Cross Country Pick 5 sequence will be available for download at https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/cross-country-wagers.
 
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 best way to bet every race of the Belmont 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.
 
Cross Country Pick 5 – Saturday, May 6
Leg A: Horseshoe Indianapolis, Race 7 – starter OC (2:25 p.m. Eastern)
Leg B: Belmont Park, Race 5 – NY-bred MSW (2:37 p.m.)
Leg C: Horseshoe Indianapolis, Race 8 – allowance (3:15 p.m.)
Leg D: Belmont Park, Race 8 – $150K Elusive Quality (4:19 p.m.)
Leg E: Belmont Park, Race 9 – G2 Fort Marcy (4:56 p.m.)