​NYRA partners with Far Hills for Saturday’s Cross Country Pick 5

by Keith McCalmont

The New York Racing Association Inc. (NYRA) will host a Cross Country Pick 5 on Saturday featuring graded-stakes action from Far Hills and Belmont Park.

The centennial running of the Far Hills Race Meeting will be featured on Saturday's edition of America's Day at the Races, the acclaimed national television show produced by NYRA, with live coverage on FS2 from 12:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Eastern.

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.

Saturday’s sequence kicks off at Far Hills with the Grade 1, $150,000 Grand National Hurdle in Race 3 at 2:34 p.m., a 2 5/8-mile test for older horses that will feature a rematch between 5-year-old mare The Mean Queen and 7-year-old gelding Snap Decision, who ran one-two in last month’s Grade 1 Lonesome Glory Handicap at Belmont.

Trained by Keri Brion, The Mean Queen ended Snap Decision’s nine-race winning streak with a two-length score in the 2 1/2-mile Lonesome Glory, while carrying 154 pounds – seven pounds less than her returning rival.

Snap Decision, trained by Hall of Famer Jack Fisher, won the Grade 1 Iroquois in June at Percy Warner and has been assigned 156 pounds for the Grant National, eight pounds more than The Mean Queen.

Action switches to Belmont for the next two legs, beginning with Race 5 at 2:43 p.m., which offers a field of 11 New York-bred fillies and mares 3-years-old and up sprinting seven furlongs on the turf.

The middle leg – the Grade 2, $200,000 Sands Point [Race 6, 3:15 p.m.] – will see a field of eight sophomore fillies contest at nine-furlongs on the inner turf led by a pair of top contenders for trainer Chad Brown in Fluffy Socks and Higher Truth.

Fluffy Socks, a Grade 3-winner, cuts back in distance after rallying to finish third last out in the nine-furlong Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks.

The Grade 1-placed Higher Truth contested all three legs of NYRA’s Turf Triple series for fillies, including a third in the 10-furlong Grade 1 Belmont Oaks Invitational in July; a second to Belmont Oaks runner-up Con Lima in the 1 3/16-mile Grade 3 Saratoga Oaks Invitational; and a prominent second last out in the 11-furlong Jockey Club Oaks Invitational. Steep opposition will be provided by group/graded stakes winners Plum Ali and Harajuku.

The sequence concludes with a pair of steeplechase stakes from Far Hills, including the $50,000 Appleton [Race 4, 3:22 p.m.], featuring a field of six older horses in a 2 5/8-mile event over national fences. Ya Boy Ya [158 pounds] ships in from his native Ireland as the field high weight for trainer Julie Gomena to battle with fellow Irish-bred Galway Kid, who won the Grade 3 David Semmes Memorial at Great Meadow in May for Brion.

Closing out the action is the $30,000 Gladstone [Race 5, 4:09 p.m.], a 2 1/8-mile event for sophomores that features the Leslie Young-trained French-bred shipper Fast Vision [151 pounds], by Vision d’Etat, who arrives from a two-length score in the Prix Soldat contested at the Gladstone distance in June at Dieppe. 

Young will also saddle the Irish-bred Project Two [148], who adds blinkers following a runner-up effort in a maiden tilt in August at Ballinrobe in Ireland. Brion will send out Irish-bred maiden Parish Delight [148], while Elizabeth Voss will saddle maiden winner Circus [151] – a dark bay son of Runhappy.

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.

America's Day at the Races is presented by America's Best Racing, Runhappy, and Claiborne Farm. For the complete broadcast schedule, and additional programming information, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule.

The Cross Country Pick 5 will continue each Saturday throughout the year. For more information, visit NYRABets.com.

Cross Country Pick 5 – Saturday, October 16:

Leg A: Far Hills - Race 3, G1 Grand National (2:34 p.m.)

Leg B: Belmont - Race 5 (2:43 p.m.)

Leg C: Belmont - Race 6, G2 Sands Point (3:15 p.m.)

Leg D: Far Hills - Race 4, Appleton (3:22 p.m.)

Leg E: Far Hills - Race 5, Gladstone (4:09 p.m.)