Calif. Crown: $5 million Grand 3 Pick ’Em Challenge is reopened
Contest entries for the $5 million 1/ST Grand 3 Pick ’Em Challenge have reopened for fans to make their selections in the Grade 1 California Crown on Saturday at Santa Anita.
The contest opened Thursday and will close Saturday at 7:40 p.m. EDT, prior to the post time for the California Crown. Fans may register and submit their picks free of charge at the contest website.
Click here for Santa Anita entries and results.
Five entries with the correct top four finishers from the Preakness 149 remain eligible for the $5 million grand prize, which only will be awarded if one of those five picks the top four finishers in order of both the California Crown and 2025 Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) in January at Gulfstream Park.
If the $5 million grand prize is not awarded, a $100,000 guaranteed consolation prize will go to the entry with the most points in the three-race series.
Fans who did not enter to play in the Preakness leg of the contest still may earn enough points to win the $100,000 consolation prize depending on the results of the California Crown and the Pegasus.
The California Crown will be broadcast live on CNBC and Peacock on Saturday from 6 to 8 p.m. EDT. It also will be shown live as part of the continuous racing coverage on FanDuel TV.
Balnikhov, winner of the Dinner Party Stakes (G3) on the Preakness undercard, is entered Saturday in the John Henry Turf (G2) and is the only horse in contention for the $2.5 million turf bonus awarded to the winner of the Dinner Party, John Henry Turf and Pegasus World Cup Turf (G2). He is owned by Little Red Feather Racing, Madaket Stables and Old Bones Racing Stable.
The Grand 3 Pick ’Em Challenge is part of 1/ST’s $25 million racing and incentive series connecting the group’s premier events and iconic venues in California, Florida and Maryland. Preakness 149, the California Crown and the Pegasus World Cup feature more than $12.5 million in elevated purses and $7.5 million in incentives for both dirt and turf participants.
Horse Racing Nation coverage of the inaugural California Crown day at Santa Anita is made possible in part through a sponsorship by 1/ST.