Saturday's all-stakes Cross Country Pick 5 featuring action from Belmont Park in Elmont, Ny., Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., and Thistledown in North Randall, Oh. paid $803.25 for selecting all five winners for the 50-cent wager. The total pool was $206,425.
Graded stakes action commenced the sequence when Double Thunder, at 4-1, won the Grade 3, $150,000 Bashford Manor for juveniles going six furlongs on the main track in Churchill's Race 9. The Hall of Fame duo of trainer Todd Pletcher and jockey John Velazquez teamed for another score, as Double Thunder posted a 4 3/4-length victory and paid $10.20 on a $2 win wager. Pletcher saw his charge complete the course in a final time of 1:11.17.
Thistledown took center stage in the second leg as the favorite Masqueparade bested King Fury by a half-length to win the $500,000 Grade 3 Ohio Derby for 3-year-olds going 1 1/8 miles on the main track in Race 9. Trainer Al Stall, Jr. won the prestigious race with Masqueparade, under rider Miguel Mena, hit the wire in 1:50.82. The winner paid $6.40.
Belmont Park got in on the act in Race 9 when Runaway Rumour made a furious late bid from the outside before finishing strong in a half-length victory in the $100,000 Wild Applause Stakes for 3-year-old fillies going one mile on the Widener turf course. Jockey Luis Cardenas earned his first career stakes win, with the Jorge Abreu trainee paying $29. Runaway Rumour improved to 3-for-3 in her career, completing the course in 1:34.25.
Churchill Downs hosted the last two legs, starting with Set Piece's half-length win in the $300,000 Grade 2 Wise Dan Stakes for 4-year-olds and up going 1 1/16 miles on the turf in Race 10. Set Piece, trained by Brad Cox and ridden by Florent Geroux, returned $5.40 as the favorite. Set Piece, who was last-of-10 a half-mile in, rallied to post a final time of 1:40.50.
Maxfield, another favorite, concluded the sequence with a 3 1/4-length win in the $600,000 Grade 2 Stephen Foster in Race 11. Conditioned by Brendan Walsh with jockey Jose Ortiz shipping in to ride at Churchill for the day, Maxfield tracked in sixth position on the backstretch in the 1 1/8-mile race on the dirt before having plenty in reserve for the stretch run, registering a final time of 1:48.53. Maxfield paid $2.80.
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. 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.
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