Sunday’s Cross Country Pick 5 to feature all-turf sequence from Belmont Park

by Mary Eddy

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) will host a Cross Country Pick 5 on Sunday with an all-turf sequence from Belmont Park. 

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.

The sequence kicks off at 2:01 p.m. Eastern in Race 3 at Belmont, the Grade 3, $175,000 Beaugay for older fillies and mares traveling 1 1/16 miles over the Widener turf. The field of 8 is led by a quartet of runners for four-time Eclipse Award-winning conditioner Chad Brown, led by a pair for owner Klaravich Stables in last-out Sand Springs winner Marketsegmentation and last year’s Grade 2 Wonder Again-winner Consumer Spending. Brown will also saddle last-out allowance winner Veronica Greene and multiple graded stakes-placed Kalifornia Queen. 

Other challengers include Grade 3 Endeavour-winner Surprisingly for Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey, optional claiming winner Contemporary Art for trainer Christophe Clement, last-out Plenty of Grace-winner Evvie Jets for conditioner Mertkan Kantarmaci, and the George Weaver-trained New York-bred stakes-winner Finest Work. 

The second leg will see a field of 10 assemble for a nine-furlong inner turf maiden special weight for 3-year-olds and up in Race 4 [2:32p.m.]. 

Clement saddles the 3-year-old Bel Ami, who has finished in the money in his last two outings, including a narrow defeat two starts back at Gulfstream Park after going 10-wide in the stretch and coming up a neck short of the victorious Baby Billy and runner-up Mondego, his stablemate who also returns in this spot. 

The Linda Rice-trained 3-year-old Ride Up has been runner-up in his last three starts at distances from six to nine furlongs. He finished third in his first two starts, including on debut in a race won by subsequent stakes-placed Clubhouse. 

The middle leg features an overflow field in a seven-furlong Widener turf allowance for fillies and mares aged 3-years-old and up in Race 6 [3:34 p.m.]. Brown saddles a formidable pair in the Irish-bred Party on Girl, who makes her North American debut off two synthetic wins in England, and Expand the Map, who finished second to stablemate and Beaugay entrant Veronica Greene last out. 

Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott also saddles two as Frosted Oats takes a step down from a last-out fourth-place finish in the Distaff Turf at Tampa Bay Downs; and Wings Like Eagles, who is in search of her first victory against winners in her second attempt after a wire-to-wire graduation at eighth asking in February. 

The penultimate leg [Race 8, 4:40 p.m.] offers a nine-furlong maiden special weight over the inner turf for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up, led by the Clement-trained Treasured Gem, who narrowly lost a 1 1/16-mile maiden after setting the pace over the Gulfstream synthetic on March 26. Trainer Barclay Tagg saddles Highland Grace, who also was narrowly defeated last out in a 1 1/16-mile turf maiden at Gulfstream where she stalked the pace and came up three-quarters of a length shy in third. The well-bred Mott trainee River Oaks will look to improve off a pair of off-the-board finishes as she tries turf for the first time. 

The sequence closes out in Race 9 [5:12 p.m.] with the $150,000 License Fee, a six-furlong Widener turf sprint for older fillies and mares. Grade 3-winner Yuugiri makes her turf debut for conditioner Rodolphe Brisset on the heels of a pacesetting fifth in the Grade 1 Madison at Keeneland. The daughter of Shackleford won over a wet Oaklawn main track in December and February, led by a strong 3 1/2-length score in the Carousel. 

The talented field includes dual graded stakes-winner Bubble Rock for two-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox, who also sends out stakes-winner Goin’ Good; Group 3-winner Minaun for conditioner Brendan Walsh; and the Jorge Abreu-trained multiple graded stakes-placed Star Devine. 

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 – Sunday, May 7

Leg A: Belmont Park, Race 3 – G3 Beaugay (2:01 p.m. Eastern)

Leg B: Belmont Park, Race 4 – MSW (2:32 p.m.)

Leg C: Belmont Park, Race 6 – allowance (3:34 p.m.)

Leg D: Belmont Park, Race 8 – MSW (4:40 p.m.)

Leg E: Belmont Park, Race 9 – $150K License Fee (5:12 p.m.)