NYRA offers all-stakes, all-turf Pick 5 for Whitney weekend

The New York Racing Association will offer a special all-stakes Whitney weekend all-turf Pick 5, linking races from Friday and Saturday at Saratoga.

The Whitney weekend all-turf Pick 5, with a 50-cent base, 15 percent takeout and mandatory payout, kicks off Friday in race 8 at 5:10 p.m. EDT with the Grade 2 Saratoga Oaks Invitational for sophomore fillies at 1 3/16 miles over the Mellon turf and continues one race later with the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame (G2) at one mile on the inner turf for sophomores.

The wager concludes with a trio of races on Saturday’s 13-race Whitney card with the third leg going as the Saratoga Derby Invitational (G1) at 1 3/16 miles for sophomore over the outer turf and followed by the listed Lure at 1 1/16 miles on the inner turf for older horses who have not won a graded race this year. The sequence concludes with the Troy (G2) at 5 1/2 furlongs over the outer turf for older horses.

Saturday’s 13-race Whitney day card will offer five Pick 5s, each with a 15 percent takeout, including the traditional early Pick 5 for races 1-5 and late Pick 5 for races 9-13, which offer a carryover provision. The trio of middle Pick 5 sequences each will feature a mandatory payout with sequences spanning races 3-7, races 5-9 and an all-stakes Pick 5 for races 7-11.

The all-stakes Pick 5 kicks off in race 7 with the Saratoga Derby Invitational followed by Test (G1), the Lure, the Troy and concludes in the featured Grade 1 Whitney, a nine-furlong test for older horses offering a win-and-you’re-in berth to the Breeders’ Cup Classic in November at Del Mar.