Saratoga teams with Woodbine and Monmouth Park in 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 four graded stakes, with racing action at Saratoga Race Course, Woodbine Racetrack and Monmouth Park.

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.

Monmouth will start the action with the Grade 3, $250,000 Monmouth Oaks for sophomore fillies going 1 1/16 miles in Race 10 at 4:33 p.m. Eastern. Midnight Obsession, the runner-up in the Grade 3 Delaware Oaks on July 3, will look to earn her first stakes win after back-back second-place finishes following two straight wins to begin her career for trainer John Servis. Her stablemate, Leader of the Band, was third in the 1 1/16-mile Delaware Oaks, giving Servis two formidable contenders. Orbs Baby Girl, sixth in the Delaware Oaks, will also compete for trainer Anthony Margotta, Jr. Allworthy, for conditioner Saffie Joseph, Jr., has won her last two starts at Gulfstream Park as she readies for her stakes bow.

The first of three graded stakes at historic Saratoga will start with the Grade 1, $350,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap for 3-year-olds and up sprinting six furlongs in Race 8 at 5:03 p.m. Defending Champion Sprinter Whitmore is still a force to reckon with as an 8-year-old, and the Ron Moquett trainee will look to add to his 15 career wins. Accomplishing that feat will be a tall order, as nine-time graded stakes-winner Firenze Fire goes out for trainer Kelly Breen. Firenze Fire has finished fourth in the last two Vanderbilt editions. Lexitonian, sixth in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap on Belmont Stakes Day last month, will look to bounce back for trainer Jack Sisterson.

A seven-furlong turf allowance for fillies and mares 3-and-up will get Woodbine in on the action in Race 9 at 5:17 p.m. Scatter the Clouds, trained by Michael Keogh, was a debut winner on June 27 at Woodbine and will look to go 2-for-2. Queen’s Speed, conditioned by Robert Tiller, won back-to-back starts to close out her 2020 campaign and started her 4-year-old year with a runner-up effort on June 26 at Woodbine off the layoff.

Saratoga will close the sequence with the final two legs, as a talented six-horse field of accomplished sophomores will contest the Grade 2, $600,000 Jim Dandy going 1 1/8 miles in Race 9 at 5:39 p.m. The prep for the Grade 1, $1.25 million Runhappy Travers on August 28 will see superstar Essential Quality make his first start since winning the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes last month. The reigning Champion 2-Year-Old has won six of his seven career starts, tallying three Grade 1 scores, and his only loss was a competitive fourth in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs. Essential Quality, whose juvenile year helped earn Brad Cox the Eclipse Award as Outstanding Trainer in 2020, will go up against Weyburn, Dr Jack, Masqueparade, Keepmeinmind and Risk Taking.

The finale will be the Grade 2, $250,000 Bowling Green for 4-year-olds and up going 1 3/8 miles on the Saratoga inner turf in Race 10 at 6:13 p.m. Channel Cat, one of three sons of English Channel entered for Saturday’s 63rd renewal, won the 2019 Bowling Green and will look to tally another one for conditioner Jack Sisterson. Bill Mott, who is tied with fellow Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher for most Bowling Green victories with four, will saddle a trio of contenders, including the reigning Champion Turf Male Channel Maker, graded-stakes winner Red Knight and multiple graded-stakes placed Moon Over Miami.

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, July 31:

Leg A: Monmouth – Race 10, G3 Monmouth Oaks (4:33 p.m.)

Leg B: Saratoga – Race 8, G1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt (5:03 p.m.)

Leg C: Woodbine – Race 9 (5:17 p.m.)

Leg D: Saratoga – Race 9, G2 Jim Dandy (5:39 p.m.)

Leg E: Saratoga – Race 10, G2 Bowling Green (6:13 p.m.)