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Updated: Cross Country Pick 5 Features Stakes From Aqueduct, Tampa Bay Downs

The New York Racing Association Inc. (NYRA) will host a Cross Country Pick 5 on Saturday featuring graded-stakes action from Aqueduct Racetrack and Tampa Bay Downs.

Free Equibase past performances for the Cross Country Pick 5 sequence are now available for download at https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/cross-country-wagers.

Saturday's sequence kicks off at 1:42 p.m. Eastern in Race 4 at Tampa Bay Downs, a one-mile turf allowance for older horses. The Chad Brown-trained Soft Power has been installed as the 8-5 morning line favorite after winning on debut at Belmont Park in June, defeating next-out winner Ranger Fox by a nose for owner Klaravich Stables.

The sequence will continue in Race 6 at Tampa Bay Downs at 2:42 p.m. Eastern with the Grade 3, $175,000 Endeavour, a 1 1/16-mile turf test for older fillies and mares led by Grade 1-winner Lady Speightspeare.

Trained by Hall of Famer Roger Attfield, the regally-bred Lady Speightspeare is by Speightstown and out of the multiple graded stakes winning Theatrical mare Lady Shakespeare, who is a full sister to Grade 1-winner Shakespeare and half-sister to Grade 1-winner Perfect Shirl.

The 4-year-old Lady Speightspeare, who has won 4-of-5 starts, won both of her graded stakes at Woodbine Racetrack, capturing the Grade 1 Natalma at one-mile on turf as a juvenile and the Grade 2 Bessarabian at seven furlongs on Tapeta in November. The Charles Fipke homebred will make her seasonal debut out of a third-place finish in the Tropical Park Oaks at 1 1/16-miles on December 26 on the Gulfstream Park turf. Steep opposition will be provided by In Italian, who has won 2-of-3 starts and will be making her stakes debut for four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown.

The action continues in Race 8 at Tampa Bay Downs [3:46 p.m.] with the Grade 3, $175,000 Tampa Bay, a 1 1/16-mile turf test featuring an overflow field of 13 older horses. Shirl's Speight, a 5-year-old son of Speightstown out of the aforementioned Perfect Shirl, will tackle a solid group of fellow graded stakes winners, including English Bee, Eons, Get Smokin, Clear Vision, and Devamani.

The action switches to the Big A for the final two legs, beginning with an open one-turn mile allowance in Race 7 [3:55 p.m.] featuring New York-bred stakes winner Chowda and maiden winners Castle Chaos and Southern District.

A field of 11 sophomores will battle nine furlongs in the Grade 3, $250,000 Withers, offering 10-4-2-1 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top-four finishers, to close out the sequence in Race 8 at 4:25 p.m.

Courvoisier, winner of the one-turn mile Jerome last out for trainer Kelly Breen, will face returning rivals Smarten Up, Cooke Creek, Unbridled Bomber and Mr Jefferson. An emerging group of Derby hopefuls includes maiden winners Constitutionlawyer and Early Voting.

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, which features a low 15 percent takeout, will continue each Saturday throughout the year.

America's Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the winter meet at Aqueduct Racetrack on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Aqueduct Racetrack, and the best way to bet every race of the winter meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

Cross Country Pick 5 – Saturday, February 5:

Leg A: Tampa – Race 4, allowance (1:42 p.m.)

Leg B: Tampa – Race 6, G3 Endeavour (2:42 p.m.)

Leg C: Tampa – Race 8, G3 Tampa Bay (3:46 p.m.)

Leg D: Aqueduct – Race 7, allowance (3:55 p.m.)

Leg E: Aqueduct – Race 8, G3 Withers (4:25 p.m.)

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Debut Winners American Icon, Iron Works Highlight Friday’s Stronach 5

Gulfstream Park's feature race, highlighted by several promising 3-year-olds including debut winners American Icon and Iron Works, will highlight Friday's Stronach 5.

The Stronach 5 will also feature races from Santa Anita Park, Laurel Park and Golden Gate Fields along with a low 12-percent takeout.

The Stronach 5, which continues to offer a strong return on investment, will start at 3:57 ET with Laurel's eighth race, a wide-open maiden $16,000 claiming event at a mile for 3-year-olds. Pit Stop Man takes a slight class drop for Edward Allard after finishing second against $20,000 claimers last out. Money Code, 1 ½ lengths behind Pit Stop Man last out, goes out for leading trainer Claudio Gonzalez. Keen On You goes out first time for trainer Hugh McMahon

Gulfstream's eighth race, a starter optional claimer for 3-year-old fillies over the Tapeta at a mile and 70 yards, serves as the second leg of the Stronach 5 and drew a field of eight including two from the barn of Antonio Sano. Paintbrush, claimed by Sano for $12,500 last out, gets the rail and Jose Ortiz while Cagua gets Javier Castellano after a 2 ¾ length victory while breaking her maiden for $16,000. Ready to Film ships in from Tampa for Gerald Bennett after failing in her last two races by less than a length in each against starter optional claiming company. Golden Bow gets Irad Ortiz Jr. after being claimed for $12,500 last out.

The Stronach 5 heads west for Santa Anita's third race, a $50,000 maiden claiming event for 3-year-old fillies at six furlongs on the turf. Pretty Rena returns to turf for Michael McCarthy and drops out of maiden special weight company. John Velazquez (26 percent) gets the mount. Reddam Racing LLC's An Agent Mistake, a daughter of Klimt, debuts for trainer Doug O'Neill as does Topolina, a daughter of Goldencents.

Gulfstream's featured ninth race, a competitive allowance optional claimer for 3-year-olds at a mile, drew a field of 10 including Iron Works, a $550,000 son of Distorted Humor and a four-length winner Jan. 8 against maiden special weight company for Todd Pletcher. Gulfstream's perennial leading trainer will also send out American Icon, a $400,000 son of Gun Runner and an 8 ½ length winner in his debut Dec. 26. OXO Equine LLC's Graphic Detail, who broke his maiden first out Nov. 6 at Belmont, returns to the track after a fourth-place finish Jan. 1 in the Mucho Macho Man. Steal Sunshine was a 10 ½ length winner last out and will make his first start since being claimed for $50,000 by Bobby Dibona.

The Stronach 5 concludes with Golden Gate's third race, a $4,000 claimer for 4-year-olds and up who have never won two. Minsky, claimed for $6,250 Nov. 12, returns after a troubled fourth-place finish Dec. 26. Bourbonwithatwist enters off three second-place finishes. The Tim Bellasis-trained son of Strong Mandate has finished in-the-money in nine of his 14 starts. Time Is Gone returns after a five-month layoff and gets the rail.

Friday's races and sequence

Leg 1 –Laurel Race 8: (9 entries, 1 mile) 3:57 ET, 12:57 PT
Leg 2 –Gulfstream Race 8: (8 entries, mile & 70 yards) 4:11 ET, 1:11 PT
Leg 3 – Santa Anita Race 3: (9 entries, 6 furlongs turf) 4:33ET, 1:33 PT
Leg 4 – Gulfstream Race 9: (10 entries, 5 ½ furlongs) 4:42 ET, 1:42 PT
Leg 5 –Golden Gate Race 3: (10 entries, 5 ½ furlongs) 4:49 ET, 1:49 PT

Fans can watch and wager on the action at 1/ST.COM/BET as well as stream all the action in English and Spanish at LaurelPark.com, SantaAnita.com, GulfstreamPark.com, and GoldenGateFields.com.

The minimum wager on the multi-race, multi-track Stronach 5 is $1. If there are no tickets with five winners, the entire pool will be carried over to the next Friday.

If a change in racing surface is made after the wagering closes, each selection on any ticket will be considered a winning selection. If a betting interest is scratched, that selection will be substituted with the favorite in the win pool when wagering closes.

The Maryland Jockey Club serves as host of the Stronach 5.

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Harrison Crowned NHC Champ; Kinchen DQd

David Harrison, a real estate appraiser and collateral analyst from Webster, New York, northeast of Buffalo and near the southern shore of Lake Ontario, took home the $725,000 first prize and an Eclipse Award as Horseplayer of the Year ad the 23rd annual National Horseplayers' Championship at Bally's Las Vegas Jan. 30.

The 63-year-old amassed a total of $342 over the course of the three-day tournament from 53 mythical $2 win/place bets–18 each during the qualifying rounds Friday and Saturday, 10 in Sunday morning's semi-final round and seven at the Final Table, intended to mimic the final stages of high-stakes poker events. When all was said and done, Harrison had a margin of $17.20 on Ryan Patrick Scully of Montgomery, IL ($200,000), while A. J. Benton of Manchester, NH, finished third another $3.80 behind.

Harrison entered the final race of Sunday's event–the Baffle S. at Santa Anita–with a $16.60 lead over Benton and $17.20 over Scully. He landed on Don't Swear Dave, who ran home for second behind odds-on Maglev, allowing Harrison to stand up in the saddle, figuratively speaking, before the race had crossed the wire.

“The guys in second and third only had a few options,” Harrison said. “Don't Swear Dave went up to 4-1 and I thought, 'If I don't have that horse they could nip me. And my name's Dave! I can't let that horse beat me.'”

Harrison was in 14th position to begin the day, but advanced steadily through the semi-final round.

“My goal was to creep up and I hit my first couple of races,” he said. “Then the one that really got my confidence up was the horse at Laurel–Let Me Finish. Every time I get into a discussion with my wife she's always telling me that–let me finish. That was one of my hunch plays and that's probably the reason I won.

He added, “This is an absolute life-changing score,” Harrison said. “I'm a middle-class, middle-income, hard-working guy. This is going to help me hopefully retire a little bit earlier than I'd planned. I'm totally overwhelmed and don't even know what else to say.”

Harrison said he has been handicapping since the late 1970s, when he would frequent Belmont Park, and credits the late New York Racing Association broadcaster and handicapper Harvey Pack for teaching him how to handicap. After the trophy presentation, Harrison tossed his Daily Racing Form in the air in tribute to Pack, who died last July at the age of 94.

Dale Day, the track announcer at Remington Park, finished 10th, good for a $50,000 payday and the proverbial icing on the cake, after his beloved Cincinnati Bengals outlasted the Kansas City Chiefs to secure a spot in the Super Bowl.

Kinchen DQd at NHC…

Jonathon Kinchen, winner of the 2015 NHC and widely recognized from duties at NYRA and FOX television, was disqualified from the NHC Saturday after it was learned that he was not in Las Vegas in person for the competition, as required by rule. Ron Flatter, reporting for Horse Racing Nation, was first to break the news.

According to Flatter, Kinchen was present at Gulfstream Park Saturday for the Pegasus program and employed an intermediary to run his bets, strictly prohibited as laid out in the rules for the NHC which read, “All wagers must be placed personally, and in person, by the contest player. To avoid being disqualified, no person shall, directly or indirectly, act as an intermediary, transmitter or agent in placing wagers for the contest player, unless prior authorization is given by NHC officials.”

According to Flatter, one of Kinchen's two NHC entries was in contention for the semi-final round.

Kinchen tweeted several times from Las Vegas in the days leading up to the contest, including a photo of an older gentleman with the Twitter handle @MarvBetRunner, but once news broke of the disqualification, took a decidedly defiant and sarcastic approach. On Jan. 30 at 1:01 p.m., he tweeted a photo, drink in hand, from what appears to be an outdoor venue in his typically eclectic garb with verbiage that read: “It was worth it…Also, I'm done being nice…” At 2:11 Sunday afternoon, Kinchen tweeted, “Yes @ronflatter, I got a statement…”

Monday morning, the NTRA issued a statement of its own regarding the situation, while not mentioning Kinchen by name. That statement reads: “The NTRA disqualified a player from the 2022 NHC for violating the official rules. One of the violated rules states, “All wagers must be placed personally, and in-person, by the Contest Player.” The disqualified player was not present at Bally's during the NHC tournament and his contest wagers were being submitted on-site by an intermediary without authorization. No authorization was given to the player to leave Bally's or the State; he violated both. The rules of the NHC are clearly outlined and all participants are required to sign them prior to the tournament.”

NTRA President and CEO Tom Rooney said, “The rules are clear that participants must be onsite to participate in the NHC. The NHC is the world's most prestigious handicapping tournament. The integrity of the event is of paramount importance–not just to us but to the thousands of men and women who attempt to qualify and play each and every year. The NTRA will staunchly and steadfastly follow the rules and defend the integrity of this prestigious event and it's participants.”

Kinchen tweeted Sunday at 2:58 p.m. that “'I got a statement” too…'” and suggested that he would address the issue in an upcoming podcast with his “partner in crime” Peter Fornatale.

The post Harrison Crowned NHC Champ; Kinchen DQd appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Turf Racing From Gulfstream, Santa Anita Highlights Friday’s Stronach 5

Turf races from Santa Anita Park and Gulfstream Park lead a competitive Stronach 5 Friday afternoon with a low 12-percent takeout.

The Stronach 5, which continues to offer a strong return on investment, will start at 4:16 ET and will also include races from Laurel Park and Golden Gate Fields.

Laurel's ninth race, a $10,000 claimer for 4-year-olds and up at 1 1/16 mile, starts the popular wager, and it drew a wide-open field of 10 with four horses running for new barns off claims. Dr. Ferber breaks from the rail after being claimed last time out by Kieron Magee, who is 28-percent off a claim. Pay The Kid goes out first time for Rodolfo Sanchez-Salomon, 50 percent first off the claim, and Souper Emperor returns to the barn of Mike Trombetta, 12 percent off the claim.

The Stronach 5 moves next to California and Santa Anita's third race, a mile event for filly and mare maiden claimers. Awesome Pamela comes into the race off a second-place finish last time out against similar company at the distance. A neck behind Awesome Pamela last time out was Medusa's Gaze, who breaks from the rail and has placed in six of nine starts at the distance, and a length back was Glory of Chrome, who closed well despite a wide trip. Cayton Kid goes out first time off the claim for Gary Stute.

Gulfstream's ninth race, a mile turf event for fillies and mares with a $35,000 tag, will serve as the third leg of the sequence. Una Luna gets Paco Lopez in the saddle and will make her first start for trainer Steve Klesaris since finishing off the board in the Claiming Crown Tiara. My Sweet Wife enters off a second-place finish last out against similar company. Chose to Be Happy, first or second in seven of 10 turf starts, goes out for the first time in five months for Eddie Plesa Jr.

The fourth leg of the sequence, Golden Gate's third race, is a starter allowance at six furlongs for fillies and mares. Holy Zags will break from the rail and will make his first start for a new barn and trainer Jonathan Wong off an eighth-month layoff. Wong also saddles She Said Yes, fifth last time out. Daniela Bella broke her maiden last out against maiden special weight company and enters with a record of 6-1-4-0.

Santa Anita's fourth race, a starter optional claimer at six furlongs on the turf, concludes the Stronach 5. Cherubic Factor and Algeria are the only starters in the seven-horse field with a win on the turf. Doug O'Neill will saddle two horses for the first time in Explosive and Cotopaxi, who was claimed for $50,000 last time out.

Friday's races and sequence

Leg 1 –Laurel Race 9: (10 entries, 1 1/16 mile) 4:16 ET, 1:16 PT
Leg 2 –Santa Anita Race 3: (8 entries, 1 mile) 4:33 ET, 1:33 PT
Leg 3 – Gulfstream Race 9: (12 entries, 1-mile turf) 4:42 ET, 1:42 PT
Leg 4 – Golden Gate Race 3: (8 entries, 6 furlongs) 4:49 ET, 1:49 PT
Leg 5 –Santa Anita Race 4: (7 entries, 6 furlongs turf) 5:04 ET, 5:04 PT

Fans can watch and wager on the action at 1/ST.COM/BET as well as stream all the action in English and Spanish at LaurelPark.com, SantaAnita.com, GulfstreamPark.com, and GoldenGateFields.com.

The minimum wager on the multi-race, multi-track Stronach 5 is $1. If there are no tickets with five winners, the entire pool will be carried over to the next Friday.

The Maryland Jockey Club serves as host of the Stronach 5.

The post Turf Racing From Gulfstream, Santa Anita Highlights Friday’s Stronach 5 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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