Races from Pimlico, Gulfstream, Santa Anita, and Golden Gate
LAUREL, Md. – An interesting sequence of five races from four tracks along with an industry-low 12-percent takeout will make up Friday’s Stronach 5.
The Stronach 5 will include races from Pimlico Race Course, Gulfstream Park, Santa Anita Park and Golden Gate Fields.
The action kicks off at 4:34 ET with Pimlico’s eighth race, a 5 ½ furlong event for optional allowance claimers led by Colts Neck Stables LLC’s Dalton, who returns from a five-month layoff after ending his juvenile season with a second-place finish against the multiple-stakes winner No Cents in the James F. Lewis at Laurel in November. A son of Kantharos, Dalton finished second by a nose in September in the Smoke Glacken at Monmouth Park. Trained by Jorge Duarte Jr., Jevian Toledo gets the mount on Dalton, who has never been off the board in five starts.
Sky’s Not Falling enters the race for trainer Mike Trombetta off a fifth-place finish on the turf at Gulfstream Park in his 3-year-old debut. The son of Seville finished third last summer at Saratoga in the Skidmore, second at Woodbine in the Ontario Racing Stakes and third in the Fitz Dixon Jr. at Presque Isle. Victor Carrasco will ride.
Exculpatory, who won his debut March 5 at Laurel for trainer Mark Reid, and Kwist, who broke his maiden at first asking in September for Claudio Gonzalez, return for their second starts.
The Stronach 5 continues with Gulfstream’s ninth race, a 7 ½ furlong turf event for maiden fillies and mares. It’s wide open with a 7-2 favorite in Maricopa, who drops slightly off a third-place finish. Kayla’s Tune returns to the turf, drops from his last turf start, and gets Edwin Gonzalez.
Pimlico’s ninth race, a five-furlong turf event for $12,500 claimers, serves as the third leg of the sequence. Algodonal leaves from the rail in her first start since November. The daughter of Afleet Alex closed out her 4-year-old year with her last five races moved off the turf to the main track.
The Stronach 5 heads west for the fourth and fifth legs of the Stronach 5. Santa Anita’s third race, a maiden claimer for 3-year-old fillies, has a 2-1 favorite in Circle of Honor, coming off a second-place finish against similar company April 4 for trainer Steve Knapp. Flag Salutes drops in from a restricted maiden special weight for trainer Carla Gaines. David Hofmans sends out Paynter’s Love, who finished 1 ¼ lengths behind Circle of Honor last time out.
Golden Gate’s third race concludes the Stronach 5. The mile turf event for 3-year-olds with a $20,000 tag has a 6-5 favorite in Qatar Racing’s Space Odessey, a son of Malibu Moon beaten less than a length at Golden Gate April 2 after dropping into this condition from a $80,000 maiden claiming event at Santa Anita in February.
Friday’s races and sequence
Leg One – Pimlico Race 8: (8 entries – 5 ½ furlongs) 4:34 ET, 1:34 PT
Leg Two – Gulfstream Race 9: (12 entries – 7 ½ furlongs turf) 4:48 ET, 1:48 PT
Leg Three –Pimlico Race 9: (10 entries – 5 furlongs turf) 5:10 ET, 2:10 PT
Leg Four –Santa Anita Park Race 3: (8 entries – 1-mile) 5:15 ET, 2:15 PT
Leg Five –Golden Gate Fields Race 3: (8 entries – 1-mile turf): 5:30 ET, 2:30 PT
Fans can watch and wager on the action at 1/STBET 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.
Maryland Jockey Club Press Release
