​First weekend card of Belmont Park spring/summer meet highlights Saturday’s Cross Country Pick 5

by Brian Bohl

The New York Racing Association Inc. [NYRA] will host a Cross Country Pick 5 on Saturday featuring racing from the first weekend of the Belmont Park spring/summer meet, along with action from Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas. 

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.

A full field of 12 maidens 3-years-old and up competing at 1 1/16 miles on the Widener turf course will start the sequence in Belmont’s Race 6 at 3:34 p.m. Eastern. Mandatory has finished in the money in four of his five career starts, posting a 0-2-2 record, including earning a field-best 85 Beyer Speed Figure for a runner-up last out on March 14 at Aqueduct Racetrack for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. The Todd Pletcher-trained Shaftesbury, a $675,000 purchase at the 2019 Keeneland September Sale, has finished second in three consecutive starts, all at Gulfstream Park, and is 7-2 on the morning line.

Oaklawn will get in on the fun with a six-furlong starter allowance race for 3-year-olds and up going six furlongs in Race 5 at 3:54 p.m. Sevier, 3-1 for trainer Coty Rosin, won his last two races at Oaklawn and will look for a third consecutive win. Greeley and Ben, trained by Karl Broberg, and I Belong to Becky both are listed at 7-2. 

The sequence alternates back to Belmont with a seven-furlong allowance optional claimer contest for 4-year-olds and up in Race 7 at 4:08 p.m. The Chad Brown trained Looking At Bikinis will be making his first start of 2021, returning off a five-month break. Looking At Bikinis, who ran 11th in the 2019 Grade 1 Travers and fourth in that year’s Grade 1 Cigar Mile, will be racing for just the third time since 2020 but is 2-1 on the morning line. The New York-bred T Loves a Fight will be making his 50th career start, listed at 15-1 for trainer Orlando Noda.

A full field of a dozen 3-year-olds and up will contest Oaklawn’s sixth race, a six-furlong claiming contest, at 4:29 p.m. Balandeen, at 3-1 on the morning line, has finished in third in his last three races for trainer Juan Cano. Unscathed, listed at 9-2 for conditioner Genaro Garcia, also ran third last out in a claiming contest, finishing in the money in April at Oaklawn going the same distance as Saturday’s race. 

Belmont will wrap up the Cross County Pick 5 with the sequence’s only stakes, as eight 4-year-olds and up will square off in the $100,000 Elusive Quality going seven furlongs on the Widener turf course. Eight-time stakes winner Therapist will look to win his seasonal debut for the third consecutive year and is listed at 7-2 for trainer Christophe Clement. Brown will send out three contenders in the eight-horse field, including 2-1 favorite Front Run the Fed, along with 4-1 Value Proposition and 12-1 selection Seismic Wave. 

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, April 22:

Leg A: Belmont– Race 6 (3:34 p.m.)

Leg B: Oaklawn – Race 5 (3:54 p.m.)

Leg C: Belmont – Race 7 (4:08 p.m.)

Leg D: Oaklawn – Race 6 (4:29 p.m.)

Leg E: Belmont – Race 8 Elusive Quality (4:40 p.m.)