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Saturday’s Cross Country Pick 5 Features All Graded Stakes Action From Belmont, Keeneland, Monmouth

Saturday's Cross Country Pick 5 will feature graded stakes in every race to highlight action across Belmont Park, Keeneland Race Course and Monmouth Park in a wager hosted by the New York Racing Association, Inc.

Live coverage will be available with America's Day at the Races on FOX Sports and MSG Networks. Free Equibase past performances for the Cross Country Pick 5 sequence are now available for download at https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/cross-country-wagers.

Monmouth will start the action in Race 8 at 3:53 p.m. Eastern with the Grade 3, $150,000 Monmouth for 3-year-olds and up going 1 1/8 miles on the turf. The Chad Brown trained Almanaar will be making his first start since he won last year's edition of the Monmouth in May 2019, coming off a 17-month layoff by looking to make a repeat bid. Brown will also send out the English-bred Serve the King for his first graded stakes start. Bal Harbour, who has run third in three consecutive graded stakes at the same racetrack, including the Grade 3 Monmouth Cup in July, will look to break through in his turf debut for trainer Gregory Sacco.

Belmont will host the first of two Grade 1 events for the Cross Country Pick 5, with seven fillies and mares 3-years-old and up competing in the $250,000 Flower Bowl going 1 ¼ miles on the inner turf in Race 8 at 4:14 p.m. The contest, a “Win and You're In” qualifier to the Grade 1, $2 million Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf on November 7 at Keeneland, will feature the top-four finishers in the Grade 2 Glens Falls in August at Saratoga all return. Civil Union, trained by Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey, won that contest last out and will face three Brown-trained contenders in Cambier Parc, My Sister Nat and Nay Lady Nay. Conditioner Tom Albertrani will send out a pair in Beau Belle and Lovely Lucky while the French-bred La Signare, trained by Brendan Walsh, rounds out the field.

Keeneland will get in on the party with the Grade 3, $200,000 Fayette for 3-year-olds and up going nine furlongs on the main track in Race 8 at 4:57 p.m. Mr Freeze, second in last year's running, will look to earn a trip to the winner's circle for trainer Dale Romans off a sixth-place finish in the Grade 2 Alysheba in September at Churchill Downs. Returning off a five-month layoff for trainer Danny Gargan is multiple graded-stakes winner Tax, who captured the 2019 Grade 2 Jim Dandy at Saratoga,.

The penultimate leg is the Grade 2, $150,000 Sands Point for sophomore fillies going one mile on the Belmont Widener turf in Race 10 at 5:20 p.m. Brown will saddle two strong contenders, with multiple graded-stakes winner Selflessly and French-bred Tamahere as the four-time Eclipse Award-winning conditioner looks to secure his fourth win in the race. Speaktomeofsummer will turn back in distance following a Saratoga summer campaign that saw the Summer Front bay capture the nine-furlong Grade 2 Lake Placid on July 19 ahead of a fourth in the 1 3/16-mile Saratoga Oaks Invitational on August 16.

The finale will be the Grade 1, $500,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup for 3-year-old fillies contesting at nine furlongs on the turf in Race 9 at 5:30 p.m. The English-bred Magic Attitude, winner of the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks last month in her North American debut, garnered acclaim for her career in Europe before coming over to the United States following a win in the Group 1 French Oaks in July at Chantilly. Steep opposition will be provided by multiple graded-stakes winner Sweet Melania, who captured the Grade 3 Wonder Again in June at Belmont for trainer Todd Pletcher; and a pair of fillies trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott in Saratoga Oaks Invitational-winner Antoinette and graded-stakes winner Harvey's Lil Goil.

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, October 10:
Leg 1 – Monmouth, Race 8: G3 Monmouth (3:53 p.m.)
Leg 2 – Belmont, Race 8: G1 Flower Bowl (4:14 p.m.)
Leg 3 – Keeneland, Race 8: G2 Hagyard Fayette (4:57 p.m.)
Leg 4 – Belmont, Race 10: G2 Sands Point (5:20 p.m.)
Leg 5 – Keeneland, Race 9: G2 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup (5:30 p.m.)

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New Jersey Lawmakers Cut Only 25 Percent Of Purse Subsidy For 2021 Racing Season

Though the initial budget proposal floated by New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy cut the state's entire $20 million horse racing subsidy, the budget passed on Tuesday by state lawmakers reduced the subsidy by only $5 million. According to the Thoroughbred Daily News, the 2021 racing season will have a purse subsidy of $15 million, to be split evenly between Thoroughbreds and Standardbreds.

Dennis Drazin, Chairman and CEO of Darby Development, which manages Monmouth Park, said he believes the $5 million difference won't cause purse reductions for the track's 2021 season.

“I am pleased that the Governor has seen fit to give us back 15 of the $20 million that is going to go support purses next year,” Drazin told thoroughbreddailynews.com. “Since it was taken out of the budget, we have worked hard on this and, fortunately, through leadership in the Senate and the Assembly, as well as a lot of our local politicians who supported the effort, the Governor saw fit to put it back in the budget. We would have liked to have had the full $20 million, but given that he is cutting everybody, I am thrilled that the Governor has our back and recognizes the importance of the industry and how important it is to save a lot of jobs and keep us competitive.”

Read more at the Thoroughbred Daily News.

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‘Highly Touted’ Early, Winchell Hopes Pneumatic Delivers On That Promise In Preakness

Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC's Pneumatic arrived at Pimlico early afternoon Tuesday for a start in Saturday's 145th Preakness Stakes (G1).

As racing manager for Winchell Thoroughbreds since 1980, David Fiske has seen horses such as Grade 1 winners Untapable, Tapizar and Summerly and graded-stakes winning millionaires Zanjero, Tapiture, Tenfold and Pyro come to hand.

In Pneumatic, who traveled by van from Saratoga, NY, Fiske sees a colt that is just now beginning to realize his potential.

A homebred by champion Uncle Mo out of the Tapit mare Teardrop, Pneumatic went unraced as a 2-year-old, spending time at the El Primero Training Center in Laredo, Texas owned and operated by Keith and Marilyn Asmussen. Their son, Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, is Pneumatic's trainer.

Pneumatic broke his maiden at first asking Feb. 15 at Oaklawn Park, getting up by a neck while sprinting six furlongs, then beat Captain Bombastic – already a stakes winner who would go on to win two more – his first time facing winners April 11.

“He came out of Laredo pretty highly touted and flashing some talent,” Fiske said.

Pneumatic made his stakes debut in the 1 1/16-mile Matt Winn (G3), battling for the lead through the Churchill Downs stretch before yielding and running third, beaten 1 ¾ lengths. That effort earned him a date in the June 20 Belmont Stakes (G1), the traditional third leg of the Triple Crown that was shortened to 1 1/8 miles and moved up to the leadoff spot due to the postponements of the Kentucky Derby (G1) and Preakness, finishing fourth.

“Like everybody else, we've had a little bit of trouble kind of getting our horses where we want them this year,” Fiske said. “The stakes schedule just got put into a blender. We're talking about the Preakness and it's the end of September.

“It's just been hard to get on a schedule and a rhythm and get the right prep races and stepping-stones in place for where you want to be. [Pneumatic] has kind of suffered from that a little bit this year, but he's doing well so hopefully he'll run well.”

In his most recent start, Pneumatic rolled to a popular 2 ¼-length triumph in the 1 1/16-mile Pegasus Aug. 15 at Monmouth Park under Joe Bravo, who will return to ride in the Preakness. They drew Post 10 in a field of 11 and were installed at 20-1 on the morning line.

Bravo has ridden in the Preakness four times, his best finish being his most recent, running fifth with Teeth of the Dog in 2012. Pneumatic prepared for the Preakness at the Oklahoma training track in Saratoga, following a bullet five-furlong move in 1:00.85 Sept. 21 with a maintenance half-mile in 50.20 seconds Sept. 28.

“Pneumatic is doing great. He seems to be coming up to the race in great shape,” Fiske said. “He's typically forwardly placed and he usually breaks well … so we'll see how it goes.”

Asmussen is also scheduled to saddle Max Player and Excession in his quest to win a third Preakness, having previously been victorious with Curlin (2007) and Rachel Alexandra (2009).

William H. Lawrence's Preakness contender Liveyourbeastlife arrived by van from Belmont shortly after Pneumatic Tuesday afternoon.

The post ‘Highly Touted’ Early, Winchell Hopes Pneumatic Delivers On That Promise In Preakness appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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‘They Are Changing The Competitiveness Of A Horse Race’: Bravo Reacts To New Jersey Whip Rules

Jockey Joe Bravo, a 13-time leading rider at Monmouth Park and board member of the Jockeys' Guild, shared his opinion of the recently announced more stringent whip rules with the Asbury Park Press this week.

New Jersey's new rule prevents riders from whipping a horse “to achieve a better placing,” while new rules in California restrict riders to two strikes in succession and six strikes in total.

“How many times have you watched a race where a horse opens up one or two lengths in the lane like he's going to win for fun, and then he puts his ears up,” Bravo told app.com. “Anyone can see the horse is looking at something and he's going to stop. But whoa, I can't hit him because I can't hit him for something other than a safety issue. Well, that is a safety issue, and am I going to get fined? And if you don't have that quick instinct to react, there could be danger.

“They are changing the competitiveness of a horse race. I feel they should be respecting the gamblers, the breeder, the owner, who all invest heavily in the game.”