Magna 5 Kicks Off Saturday

The Magna 5, a five-race wagering series with a guaranteed $500,000 minimum pool, begins Saturday at approximately 4:25 p.m. (EST). In the span of a little more than an hour, five races, tied together with one bet, will be presented at Magna Entertainment Corp. tracks.

The series was announced earlier this month and will run every Saturday through May 29. If there is no winner, the pot will continue to grow until it is hit.

The Magna 5, sponsored by XpressBet, MEC's account wagering subsidiary, will be available wherever races on MEC tracks are available. Cost for the wager is $2.

The lineup for Saturday's Magna 5 is:

Race 1: the Nellie Morse Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles from Laurel Park (post time approx 4:25 p.m.)

Race 2: the ninth race from Gulfstream, an optional claiming race for fillies and mares at seven furlongs (4:38 p.m.)

Race 3: the Brown Bess Handicap (gr. IIT) for filles and mares at 1 1/16 miles on the turf from Golden Gate Fields (4:47 p.m.)

Race 4: the 10th race from Gulfstream, a 1 1/8-mile allowance for 4-year-olds and up, non-winners of one "other than" (5:07 p.m.)

Race 5: the fifth race from Santa Anita, a one-mile turf allowance race for 4-year-olds and up, non-winners of one "other than" (5:32 p.m.)

The races can been seen on track, at most simulcast centers and OTBs, or on Horse Racing TV.

In addition to a $500,000 guaranteed minimum pool each week, the Magna 5 features a 22% take-out, lower than the take-out rate on multi-race wagers in many jurisdictions.

If no ticket contains all five race winners on a given day, 25% of the total pool will be paid in consolation prizes, while 75% will be carried over to the following Saturday's Magna 5, establishing the possibility of large pools as the wager progresses.

HRTV will air a 15-minute preview show handicapping the day's Magna 5 card twice each Saturday: at noon, and immediately following the second race from Santa Anita (approximately , 4:05 Eastern time). The show will include handicapping by HRTV hosts Laffit Pincay III, Jeff Siegel and Brad Free of the Daily Racing Form, as well as video past perforformances, interviews, and selections from other handicappers.