Races from Gulfstream Park, Santa Anita Park and Golden Gate Fields
LAUREL, Md. – The Stronach 5 returns Friday with races from Gulfstream Park, Santa Anita Park and Golden Gate Fields along with an industry-low 12-percent takeout.
Friday’s sequence includes three turf races – two maiden turf races from Gulfstream and Golden Gate and a competitive 10-horse $32,000 claiming event from Santa Anita.
The Stronach 5 begins at 4:50 p.m. with Gulfstream’s eighth race, a claiming event for 3-year-olds and up going six furlongs. Five of Hearts breaks from the rail as the 2-1 favorite for trainer Kathleen O’Connell and jockey Edwin Gonzalez. Victor Barboza Jr. saddles the 5-2 second choice I Kickn. The 4-year-old has two wins and four thirds from eight lifetime starts. Edgard Zayas has the mount.
Santa Anita’s third race serves as the second leg of the sequence. The six-furlong claiming event for 4-year-olds and up appears to be wide-open with five of the seven starters 4-1 or less. Gulfstream’s ninth race is up next. The mile turf event for $50,000 maiden claimers is another wide-open affair with a 3-1 favorite in Gary Barber’s Blue Lou Boyle, coming off a second-place finish Feb. 10 for trainer Mark Casse off a 13-month layoff. Trainers Brendan Walsh and Barclay Tagg send out first-time starters while trainer Eoin Harty ships Astroturf in from Tampa off a third-place finish March 14.
A return to Santa Anita for its fourth race and the fourth leg of Friday’s sequence. A claiming event for 4-year-olds and up at six furlongs on the turf has a 5-2 favorite in Where We At’s Castle, who enters off a second-place finish Feb. 21 off a near year layoff. The 2019 winner of California Flag Handicap has Abel Cedillo named to ride. Psycho Dar (4-1) goes out for the Kristin Mulhall barn, which clicks at 25-percent in turf sprints. Gary Barber’s Blackout (4-1), conditioned by Peter Miller, gets blinkers on.
The Stronach 5 wraps up at Golden Gate with Race 4, a maiden $20,000 for 3-year-olds at a mile on the turf. Stormin Galileo (5-2) breaks from the rail after a fifth-place finish against state-bred maiden special weight company. Space Odessey drops from an $80,000 claiming event Feb. 27 at Santa Anita for trainer Simon Callaghan. The gelded, Maryland-bred son of Malibu Moon fetched $225,000 as a yearling at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
Friday’s races and sequence
Leg One –Gulfstream Park 8th Race: (8 entries, 6 furlongs) 4:50 ET, 1:50 PT
Leg Two – Santa Anita Park 3rd Race: (7 entries, 6 furlongs) 5:13 ET, 2:13 PT
Leg Three –Gulfstream Park 9th Race: (8 entries, 1 mile turf) 5:22 ET, 2:22 PT
Leg Four –Santa Anita Park 4th Race: (10 entries, 6 furlongs (turf) 5:44 ET, 2:44 PT
Leg Five –Golden Gate Fields 4th Race: (9entries, 1-mile turf) 5:59 ET, 2:59 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.
Stronach 5 Press Release
