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NYRA, Del Mar team up for an all-graded stakes Cross Country Pick 5 on Saturday

by Ryan Martin

An all-graded stakes Cross Country Pick 5 is slated for Saturday, August 17 featuring action from Saratoga Race Course and Del Mar Racetrack in San Diego, California.

Saratoga will host the first two legs of the sequence, which begins when a field of seven sophomore fillies, plus one main track only entrant, will go into line for the Grade 2, $200,000 Lake Placid over the inner turf course.

Carded as Race 9, the 1 1/16-mile event will feature Varenka, who seeks her first stakes victory for trainer Graham Motion. The daughter of Ghostzapper was an impressive allowance winner over the Saratoga turf last out and is three-times placed against stakes company. Trainer Chad Brown will saddle stakes winners Regal Glory and Blowout, who ran a respective one-two in the Grade 3 Lake George last out. The Lake Placid has a 5:26 p.m. Eastern scheduled post time.

Three-year-old fillies will take to the dirt for the next leg, the Grade 1, $600,000 Alabama presented by NYRA Bets. Scheduled as Race 10 with a 5:59 p.m. post, the 1 1/4-mile event features Peter Brant's Dunbar Road, who was an impressive winner of the Grade 2 Mother Goose at Belmont Park last out. Trainer Larry Jones will saddle dual graded stakes winner Street Band for what he hopes will be his second Alabama victory.

Action shifts to southern California for the remaining three legs of the sequence. The Grade 2, $250,000 Del Mar Handicap, carded as Race 7 with an 8:00 p.m. post time, is a 1 ½-mile marathon on the grass and features Marckie's Water, Itsinthepost and Acclimate all of whom are graded stakes winners in California. The Great Day, who ships from the east coast for trainer Arnaud Delacour, will seek his first win since the Group 1 Estrellas Classic in his native Argentina.

The penultimate leg of the Cross Country Pick 5 is the Grade 1, $300,000 Del Mar Oaks. Carded as Race 9 with a 9:00 p.m. post time, the 1 1/8-mile event for 3-year-old fillies features two stakes winners from the Brown barn in Dogtag and Cambier Parc. Trainer Norm Casse will ship Hard Legacy to Del Mar in attempt of a second straight graded stakes win.

Concluding the sequence will be the Grade 1, $1 million Pacific Classic, a "Win And You're In" event for the Grade 1, $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita Park. The 1 ¼-mile event on the main track features plenty of shippers from the east coast, most notably Charles Fipke's Seeking the Soul, who won the Grade 2 Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs last out for trainer Dallas Stewart. Two-time graded stakes winner Quip, second in the Stephen Foster, will look to turn the tables as he seeks his first Grade 1 win for trainer Rodolphe Brisset. Woodford Racing's Campaign and Reddam Racing's Pavel carry the banner for the locally-based contenders. The Pacific Classic is slated as Race 10 with a post time of 9:30 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.

Saratoga - Del Mar Cross Country Pick 5

Leg A: Saratoga (Race 9, 5:26 p.m.; Grade 2, $200,000 Lake Placid)

Leg B: Saratoga (Race 10, 5:59 p.m.; Grade 1, $600,000 Alabama presented by NYRA Bets)

Leg C: Del Mar (Race 7, 8:00 p.m.; Grade 2, $250,000 Del Mar Handicap)

Leg D: Del Mar (Race 9, 9:00 p.m.; Grade 1, $300,000 Del Mar Oaks)

Leg E: Del Mar (Race 10, 9:30 p.m.; Grade 1, $1 million Pacific Classic)