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Wednesday Pick 6 At Saratoga Bolstered By Sunday Carryover

The Pick 6 on Wednesday will be bolstered by a $161,541 carryover as the multi-race wager went unsolved Sunday at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

The $1 Pick 6 returned $538 to bettors who selected 5-of-6 winners correctly.

Sunday's sequence kicked off in Race 5 with Gerrymander [No. 3, $22.20] graduating at second asking in a six-furlong maiden special weight for 2-year-old fillies. Jockey Joel Rosario engineered the winning trip for trainer Chad Brown.

Hail To [No. 8, $43.60], a full sister to multiple Grade 1-winner Sadler's Joy, lit up the tote board when breaking her maiden at second asking over the inner turf going 1 1/16 miles for trainer Tom Albertrani in Race 6. The 2-year-old daughter of Kitten's Joy was piloted by jockey Ricardo Santana, Jr.

Santana, Jr. struck gold yet again when piloting Montauk Daddy [No. 5, $7.30] to a second straight victory for trainer Rob Atras in a 5 ½-furlong starter allowance over the Mellon turf course in Race 7.

Beau Liam [No. 1, $2.80] gave Santana, Jr. the hat trick in Race 8 when the son of Liam's Map remained unbeaten in three starts, capturing a second level allowance tilt at 6 ½ furlongs over the main track. Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, Beau Liam was the lone favorite to win in the sequence.

Peter Brant's Sifting Sands [No. 8, $18.80] notched a third career win for trainer Chad Brown, capturing the $120,000 Better Talk Now [Race 9] in the sequence's penultimate leg. The son of Dubawi was ridden by Manny Franco.

Rounding out the sequence in Race 10 was Newcal Stable's New York homebred Chulainn [No. 6, 22.60], who scored her second lifetime win, taking a 1 1/16-mile starter allowance over the Mellon turf course for trainer Graham Motion with Rosario aboard.

Wednesday's Pick 6 kicks off in Race 5 at 3:21 p.m. Eastern and includes the $150,000 Grade 3 With Anticipation in Race 9. First post on the 10-race card is 1:05 p.m. Eastern.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Saratoga Race Course, and the best way to bet every race of the 40-day summer meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at http://www.NYRABets.com.

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Two-Day Pick 4 At Saratoga Pays $156.50 To Winners

A special two-day Pick 4 featuring exciting stakes action Friday and Saturday from historic Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., during Runhappy Travers weekend paid $156.50 on a $2 base for selecting 4-of-4 winners. The total pool was $169,386.

The wager, which featured a mandatory payout, ran its first two legs on Friday's card and concluded on Saturday during Runhappy Travers Day.

Friday saw New York breds earn the spotlight at the Spa, with six stakes worth a combined $1.15 million for horses bred in the Empire State on the card. The two-day Pick 4 started with the $250,000 Albany for 3-year-olds going 1 1/8 miles on the main track in Race 9, with Americanrevolution posting a five-length win as the heavy favorite. Meet-leading rider Luis Saez stayed off the pace before coaxing a strong closing surge from Americanrevolution, who is trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert. He completed the course in 1:49.94 and paid $3.40 on a $2 win bet.

Saez earned a personal double by leading Giacosa to victory in the following race, rallying from ninth to best Myhartblongstodady by three-quarters of a length to win the $150,000 Yaddo for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up going 1 1/16 miles on the turf. Trained by H. James Bond, Giacosa went off at 9-1 but hit the wire in 1:42.54, paying $20.80.

Saturday closed the Pick 4 with a pair of prestigious Grade 1 contests, starting when favorite Letruska topped Bonny South by a half-length in an exciting finish to the $600,000 Personal Ensign presented by Lia Infiniti. Conditioned by Fausto Gutierrez, Letruska went gate-to-wire in the 1 1/8-mile main track contest, registering a final time of 1:49.15 under jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. Letruska returned $3.50.

The 152nd running of the $1.25 million Runhappy Travers for sophomores contesting the classic distance of 1 1/4 miles closed out the wager when favorite Essential Quality held off Midnight Bourbon by a neck to bolster his case as the top 3-year-old.

Essential Quality, the winner of the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets and the Grade 2 Jim Dandy in his previous start at the Spa, gave trainer Brad Cox his first career Runhappy Travers win, while Saez earned his second and first since 2013 when he rode Will Take Charge. Essential Quality posted a final time of 2:01.96 and paid $2.90.

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Travers Day Card Generates $51 Million In All-Sources Handle

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) today announced that the 13-race Runhappy Travers Day card generated all-sources handle totaling $51,381,515 at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

A paid crowd of 44,507 witnessed Essential Quality secure victory in the Runhappy Travers for reigning Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox and jockey Luis Saez. Essential Quality, owned by Godolphin, posted a final time of 2:01.96 in the 152nd running of the $1.25 million Grade 1 Runhappy Travers. With today's victory in the Runhappy Travers, Cox becomes just the third conditioner to sweep the Whitney and Travers in the same summer with two different horses.

On-track handle was $9,406,526.

NYRA was honored to welcome New York Governor Kathy Hochul to Saratoga Race Course on Saturday, where she presented the Man o' War Cup to the connections of Essential Quality. On Tuesday, August 24, Gov. Hochul made history by becoming the first female governor in New York State history.

“The New York Racing Association thanks our fans for their tremendous support today and throughout the 2021 summer meet here at historic Saratoga Race Course, and we look forward to closing out the meet with fan appreciation week,” said NYRA President & CEO Dave O'Rourke.” We would also like to thank Gov. Hochul for joining us today to witness history and present the Man o' War Cup.”

For the third consecutive year, fans nationwide watched the Runhappy Travers action unfold on the FOX Broadcast Network as part of a special 90-minute telecast. Overall, the FOX Sports family of networks broadcast 7 ½ hours of live racing action from Saratoga which included all seven graded stakes on Runhappy Travers Day.

The Runhappy Travers was the centerpiece of a card featuring six Grade 1s among seven stakes in total, including the $750,000 Grade 1 Resorts World Casino Sword Dancer; $600,000 Grade 1 Personal Ensign presented by Lia Infiniti; $500,000 Grade 1 Ketel One Ballerina; $600,000 Grade 1 Forego; and $500,000 Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial. Rounding out the blockbuster card was the $400,000 Grade 2 Ballston Spa.

The 2021 summer meet at historic Saratoga Race Course continues through Labor Day, Monday, September 6. For more information about Saratoga Race Course, visit NYRA.com.

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McNerney Wins NHC Charity Challenge, Brunker Finishes Second

Jimmy McNerney, track announcer at Ellis Park Racing & Gaming and Turfway Park, both located in Kentucky, won the 7th annual $5,000 National Horseplayers Championship (NHC) Charity Challenge presented by Four Roses Bourbon with a final mythical bankroll of $68.60. Mike Brunker, assistant city editor and horse racing columnist at the Las Vegas Review-Journal, finished second with $64.20.

McNerney spent about six hours preparing for the Charity Challenge, including while his wife drove him from Cincinnati to Ellis this morning.

“The horse in the last (Del Mar Race 9, Friar's Road, $10.20) was the one I loved the most,” he said. “I just thought the pace scenario set up perfect for him and he definitely was the one.”

A field of 58 personalities competed in the Charity Challenge. As the winner, McNerney will have $2,500 donated in his name to the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF) and he chose the Dragonfly Foundation of Cincinnati, supporters of patients and families impacted by pediatric cancer, to receive $2,500.

McNerney chose the Dragonfly Foundation in honor of a family friend who has used their services

“When he explained what all they did for him, it really hit me and I thought, man, if I ever get a chance I'd like to donate to them. And I went through a couple of heart surgeries when I was a child. There's a lot of struggle with families in town who don't have a support group or places to go.”

McNerney “grew up at the barn,” as he tells it. His grandparents were both trainers. His dad was a jockey. His mom and her siblings also were steeped in the sport and two of them were riders, too.

“We were always at Ellis Park and Turfway so it's kind of cool that I get to actually call the two tracks I grew up at,” McNerney said.

McNerney has worked in racing office roles at Beulah Park and River Downs before he became an announcer.

“I became friends with Luke Kruytbosch and would hang out with him in the booth here at Ellis,” he said..”After he passed I never thought I'd get a chance because he was the one helping me. But I used to do impersonations of announcers just hanging out at the bar at Hoosier Park. One day [longtime announcer] Steve Cross had car trouble and the publicity lady, Tammy Knox, came to me and said, 'You're up.' I told her I'd only called races off TV and she said, 'Well, you're all we got.'”

McNerney served as a backup for several years before landing a gig at Fair Grounds for their Summer Quarter Horse Meet. He continues to work as an agent and currently has the book of DeShawn Parker, who this year has received two of the most prestigious career honors for riders, the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award presented by Santa Anita Park and the Mike Venezia Award from the New York Racing Association.

The top five in the Charity Challenge was rounded out by longtime industry video production specialist G.D. Hieronymus ($59.60), Forbes SportsMoney business writer Matt Rybaltowski ($56), and New York Racing Association/FOX Sports racing analyst and co-founder of In the Money Media Jonathon Kinchen ($45.30).

In addition to the charitable prize, Breeders' Cup is offering a $500 credit to the winner's HorsePlayers.com account The second-place finisher will get a $250 credit with third earning a $100 credit.

Players selected one horse for a mythical $2 Win and Place bets on the same eight races used as mandatory events on Day #2 at the NHC.

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