NYRA Photo

NYRA partners with Ellis Park for special Sunday Cross Country Pick 5

by Brian Bohl

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) will host a Cross Country Pick 5 with Ellis Park on Sunday, with historic Saratoga Race Course hosting the first and third legs and the Henderson, Kentucky-based track offering stakes action, including the Runhappy Ellis Park Derby, in the other three races.

Live coverage of all the sequence's races will be available with Saratoga Live on FOX Sports and MSG Networks. Free Equibase past performances for the Cross Country Pick 5 sequence are now available for download at https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/cross-country-wagers.

The Spa will start the sequence in Race 7 at 4:43 p.m. Eastern with a claiming race for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up going 5 ½ furlongs on the turf. Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen will send out Florida-bred Aunt Nadine, who ran second at Saratoga on July 16. Saratoga meet-leading trainer Christophe Clement will saddle Stretchthestory, a New York-bred who ran fourth in the Tepin on December 5 at Aqueduct Racetrack to cap her juvenile year before starting her sophomore campaign with a seven-place effort off a layoff on June 5 at Belmont Park.

Ellis Park will commence the stakes action in Race 8 at 5:10 p.m. with the first running of the $100,000 Runhappy Audubon Oaks for 3-year-old fillies. An 11-horse field will compete at seven furlongs in the main track. Offering 10-4-2-1 qualifying points to the Kentucky Oaks on September 4 at Churchill Downs, the Audubon Oaks lists Ocean Breeze and Sconsin among the contenders.

Saratoga will be the site of the third leg with Race 8 at 5:17 p.m. Nine sophomores will run at 1 1/8 miles on the inner turf in the allowance tilt, with Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano aboard the George Weaver-trained Our Country from post 2. Clement will send out Shamrocket and City Man, while four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown will saddle Forever Poe. Hall of Famer Bill Mott trains Will Sing for Wine, who drew the outside post.

Ellis Park will conclude the action with the final two races. A full 12-horse field was drawn for the $100,000 Groupie Doll for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up in Race 9 at 5:40 p.m. The one-mile main track route will see Street Band, from post 12, allowing Ellis Park fans the chance to witness the 2019 Grade 1 Cotillion winner in action in her first race in nearly four months, when she ran fourth in the Grade 1 Apple Blossom on April 18 at Oaklawn Park. 

The finale will feature the third running of the $200,000 Runhappy Ellis Park Derby for 3-year-olds going 1 1/8 miles in Race 10 at 6:10 p.m. The race offers 85 points [50-20-10-5] to the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby on September 5. After the Grade 1, $1 million Runhappy Travers on Saturday at Saratoga, the Runhappy Ellis Park Derby is the next-to-last points race on the revised prep schedule, with only the Pegasus [20-8-4-2] on August 15 at Monmouth Park remaining.

In the Runhappy Ellis Park Derby, Grade 2 Blue Grass-winner Art Collector will look to add more points for the "Run for the Roses." The Thomas Drury, Jr. trainee is 4-1-0 in eight career starts. 

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 - Sunday, August 9:
Leg 1 - Saratoga Race Course, Race 7: (4:43 p.m.)
Leg 2 - Ellis Park, Race 8: Runhappy Audubon Oaks (5:10 p.m.)
Leg 3 - Saratoga Race Course, Race 8: (5:17 p.m.)
Leg 4 - Ellis Park, Race 9: Groupie Doll (5:40 p.m.)
Leg 5 - Ellis Park, Race 10: Runhappy Ellis Park Derby (6:10 p.m.)