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Weekend Lineup Presented By Laurel’s Winter Sprintfest: Saudi Cup Showdown

The $20 million Saudi Cup, headlined by 2020 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner Knicks Go and fellow top-level victor Charlatan, will be broadcast on FS2 and FS1 as part of the NYRA-produced “America's Day at the Races” series on Saturday. Undercard races will air on FS2 from 8:30 a.m. to noon ET, and the Saudi Cup will air on FS1 during an hour-long broadcast from noon to 1 p.m. ET.

FOX Sports is the exclusive broadcast provider of the Saudi Cup in the United States. Scheduled post time for the Saudi Cup is 12:40 p.m. ET and wagering is available in the United States via NYRA Bets.

Saturday is also set to feature Laurel Park's Winter Sprintfest, a nine-race program featuring six stakes worth $900,000 in purses co-headlined by the Grade 3 Barbara Fritchie and Grade 3 General George.

Saturday, Feb. 20

12:40 p.m.—$20,000,000 Saudi Cup at King Abdulaziz Racetrack on FS1

Multiple Grade 1 winner Knicks Go and fellow top-level victor Charlatan head up the American contingent set to go to post in the second edition of the $20 million Saudi Cup. Knicks Go captured the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile in track-record setting fashion last November to cap off his 2020 campaign and began his 2021 season with a triumph in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes on Jan. 23. The Saudi Cup will mark the seasonal bow for Charlatan as the son of Speightstown captured the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes at Santa Anita Park on Dec. 26.

Entries: https://www.racingpost.com/racecards/1016/riyadh/2021-02-20/778770/

3:46 p.m.—$250,000 Grade 3 Barbara Fritchie Stakes at Laurel Park on TVG

With few remaining gaps on Hello Beautiful's resume, trainer Brittany Russell will seek to achieve a significant milestone for both herself and her stable star when they go up against seven rivals in Saturday's Barbara Fritchie. A graded win would fill an important blank on an otherwise stellar ledger for Hello Beautiful, a Maryland-bred daughter of Golden Lad that has won five career stakes and takes a three-race win streak into the richest and most prestigious event of the winter meet. Sporting a perfect 7-0 record over Laurel's main track, Hello Beautiful is three-for-four at seven furlongs including wins in the Maryland Million Nursery and Safely Kept last fall to cap her sophomore campaign.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/LRL022021USA7-EQB.html

4:19 p.m.—$250,000 Grade 3 General George Stakes at Laurel Park on TVG

Grade 3 winner Majestic Dunhill, exiting a pair of disappointing efforts off a career-best performance, trades the South Florida sunshine for Maryland's winter chill as he attempts to regain his winning form in the General George. Majestic Dunhill has placed in three stakes since, including the 2019 Polynesian at Laurel, and beat Share the Ride by a head to capture the Grade 3 Bold Ruler Stakes in the mud on Halloween at Belmont Park.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/LRL022021USA8-EQB.html

5:16 p.m.—$100,000 Grade 3 Royal Delta Stakes at Gulfstream Park on TVG

Edward Seltzer and Beverly Anderson's Eres Tu is scheduled to seek her fourth straight comeback victory in Saturday's Royal Delta. The 5-year-old daughter of Malibu Moon, who is undefeated since returning from an 18-month layoff and joining trainer Arnaud Delacour's stable, will also pursue her second straight graded-stakes triumph. The homebred mare returned to action with a 2 ¼-length optional claiming allowance victory last October at Keeneland. She followed with a 1 ½-length score in the Nov. 26 Thirty Eight Go Go Stakes and a length triumph in the Dec. 26 Allaire DuPont.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/GP022021USA11-EQB.html

6:46 p.m.—$200,000 Grade 2 Buena Vista Stakes at Santa Anita Park on TVG

A pair of talented California-breds, Mucho Unusual and Warren's Showtime, head a competitive field of 10 older fillies and mares in Saturday's Buena Vista Stakes, to be contested at one mile over the Santa Anita turf. Owned and bred by George Krikorian and trained by Tim Yakteen, Mucho Unusual seeks her third consecutive graded stakes victory at the current meeting. A winner of the Grade 3 Robert J. Frankel on Dec. 27, she again stalked the early pace and registered a three quarter length victory at 2-5 in the Grade 3 Megahertz on Jan. 18.

Entries: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/SA022021USA7-EQB.html

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Weather Forces Laurel To Postpone Friday Card; Stronach 5 Cancelled

A winter storm bringing freezing rain, snow and ice to the Mid-Atlantic region has caused the Maryland Jockey Club to postpone live racing Friday at Laurel Park and bring back the 10-race program in its entirety Thursday, Feb. 25.

The MJC's OTB network, including Pimlico Race Course, will remain open for simulcasting.

In addition, the weekly national Stronach 5 wager has been cancelled. Laurel was to have hosted the first and third legs of the Stronach 5, which also included races from Santa Anita, Gulfstream Park and Golden Gate Fields.

Three allowance races were part of Friday's card, including the return to Maryland of Grade 2 winner Shotski in Race 8, a second-level optional claiming allowance for 4-year-olds and up going about 1 1/16 miles. Dudley Square, a Jan. 22 allowance winner at Laurel for trainer Todd Pletcher, is the 8-5 program favorite.

Mostly sunny skies and a high temperature of 33 degrees are forecast for Saturday's Winter Sprintfest, a nine-race program featuring six stakes worth $900,000 in purses co-headlined by the $250,000 Runhappy Barbara Fritchie (G3) for females and $250,000 General George (G3).

Also on the program are the $100,000 Miracle Wood going one mile for 3-year-olds and $100,000 Wide Country for 3-year-old fillies sprinting seven furlongs, and $100,000 John B. Campbell and $100,000 Nellie Morse for older horses, both at about 1 1/16 miles, the latter for females.

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Friday’s Stronach 5 Features Races From Four Tracks, Pair Of Heavy Favorites

The Stronach 5 goes coast-to-coast Friday, with races from Laurel Park, Santa Anita Park, Gulfstream Park and Golden Gate Fields along with an industry-low 12-percent takeout.

The Stronach 5 continues to show a strong return on investment. Multiple winning tickets last week returned $511.70 despite the fact only one winner returned more than $5.40. A couple of 7-5 favorites late in Friday's sequence makes things interesting.

Friday's Stronach 5 begins with Laurel's ninth race, an allowance event for Maryland-bred or sired horses at 5 ½ furlongs. It's a wide-open race with a 4-1 tepid favorite in Stone Courageous. Mice and Men returns off two troubled trips and leading trainer Claudio Gonzalez sends out Baptize the Boy.

The action moves to Santa Anita for its third race, a 6 ½ furlong event on the turf for California-bred or sired maidens. In Vronsky Style debuts for trainer Phil D'Amato. The gelding draws the rail and is the 5-2 morning-line favorite. Queen's Code goes out for trainer Carla Gaines. The 4-year-old finished third in his debut on the turf Nov. 22 at Del Mar and fourth on the main track Jan. 1 at Santa Anita. Doug O'Neill sends out Square Root, a first-time gelding who gets the blinkers off.

Laurel's 10th race, a $10,000 maiden claiming event at seven furlongs, serves as the third leg of the Stronach 5, and it's a wide-open field of 14 with Pardon the Pun the 5-2 morning-line favorite off three consecutive runner-up placings at this level. War Light drops in class for trainer Kelly Rubley off a fifth-place finish against $40,000 maiden claimers around two turns. Lifespan, who has four second-place finishes in 10 starts, is listed at 3-1.

Gulfstream's ninth race serves as the fourth leg of the Stronach 5. The allowance optional claiming event at five furlongs on the turf for state bred fillies and mares has a 7-5 favorite in Daddy's Joy, who turns back from two turns for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. and jockey Edgard Zayas. Golden Gate's second race, an allowance optional claimer at six furlongs for fillies and mares wraps up the Stronach 5 and the five-horse field also has a 7-5 favorite in Coco Bee, a winner last time out for trainer Blaine Wright and a winner of six of 12 career starts.

Friday's races and sequence

Leg One – Laurel Park 9th Race: (10 entries, 5 ½ furlongs) 4:17 ET, 1:17 PT
Leg Two –Santa Anita Park 3rd Race: (9 entries, 6 12 furlongs turf) 4:35 ET, 1:35 PT
Leg Three – Laurel Park 10th Race: (14 entries, 7 furlongs) 4:48 ET, 1:48 PT
Leg Four – Gulfstream Park 9th Race: (8 entries, 5 furlongs turf) 5:16 ET, 2:16 PT
Leg Five – Golden Gate Fields 2nd Race: (5 entries, 6 furlongs) 5:25 ET, 2:25 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 Stronach 5 In the Money podcast, hosted by Jonathan Kinchen and Peter Thomas Fornatale, will be posted by 2 p.m. Thursday at InTheMoneyPodcast.com and will be available on iTunes and other major podcast distributors

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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Stakes From Laurel, Aqueduct Highlight Coverage On America’s Day At The Races

Exciting live racing from Aqueduct Racetrack, Laurel Park, Fair Grounds and Tampa Bay Downs will comprise nine hours of live coverage this weekend on America's Day at the Races, the acclaimed national telecast produced by the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) in partnership with FOX Sports.

Presented by America's Best Racing and Claiborne Farm, America's Day at the Races will air Saturday and Sunday from 1:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. Eastern on FS2, including live coverage on Saturday of the Grade 3, $250,000 General George and Grade 3, $250,000 Runhappy Barbara Fritchie from Laurel Park and the $100,000 Maddie May at the Big A.

The Runhappy Barbara Fritchie, a seven-furlong sprint for older fillies and mares, attracted a field of eight led by popular Maryland-bred Hello Beautiful for trainer Brittany Russell. The 4-year-old Golden Lad filly, to be piloted from the outside post by Sheldon Russell, enters from a trio of wins in stakes company at Laurel Park including a last-out score in the What A Summer. Steep opposition will be provided by Sharp Starr, trained by Horacio DePaz for owner-breeder Barry K. Schwartz, who won the Grade 3 Go for Wand Handicap in December at Aqueduct.

The Grade 3 General George, a seven-furlong sprint for 4-year-olds and up, will feature Gatsas Stables, R.A. Hill Stable and Swick Stable's New York-bred Funny Guy. Trained by John Terranova, the 5-year-old Big Brown bay, bred in the Empire State by Hibiscus Stables, boasts a record of six wins and six seconds from 17 starts with purse earnings of $638,645. A wide-open field of 10 also includes 2020 Grade 3 Fall Highweight-winner Share the Ride; 2020 Grade 3 Bold Ruler-victor Majestic Dunhill; and 2020 Grade 3 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash winner Laki.

America's Day at the Races will also feature live coverage of stakes action on the Laurel Park undercard including the Miracle Wood, John B. Campbell, Nellie Morse, and Wide Country.

Stakes action at the Big A on Saturday is led by the Maddie May, a one-turn mile for New York-bred sophomore fillies. The field of nine is headlined by OXO Equine's impressive maiden winner Brattle House, who is trained and co-bred by Christophe Clement. The Malibu Moon bay earned a 65 Beyer Speed Figure in her 5 1/4-length debut romp on November 22 at Aqueduct. She will have to fend of the multiple graded stakes placed Make Mischief, who completed the exacta in the Grade 3 Schuylerville and Grade 2 Adirondack last summer at Saratoga. Last out, Chris Englehart saddled the Into Mischief bay to an impressive score in her seasonal debut in an optional-claiming sprint on January 31 at the Big A.

Weekend coverage will also include live racing action from Tampa Bay Downs and Fair Grounds Race Course.

America's Day at the Races is also broadcast on NYRA's YouTube channel which boasts more than 64,000 subscribers. Fans can subscribe to NYRA's channel and set a reminder to watch the show on YouTube Live. NYRA's YouTube channel also hosts a plethora of race replays, special features, America's Day at the Races replays and more.

Free Equibase-provided past performances are available for races that are part of the America's Day at the Races broadcast and can be accessed at https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the official online wagering platform of Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course. Available to horseplayers nationwide, NYRA Bets is currently offering a $200 new member bonus in addition to a host of special weekly offers. The NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

For the current broadcast schedule and additional programming information, visit NYRA.com.

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