Pletcher-Velazquez win five

With Ocean Drive's win in the $201,000 , trainer Todd Pletcher and jockey John Velazquez combined to win five races at Saratoga on Monday's nine-race card.

Ocean Drive, the 2-1 favorite, capped the remarkable feat by winning the Grade 3 Ballston Spa by 1 1/4 lengths over Personal Legend. It was another 1 3/4 lengths back to High Court in third in the 1 1/16-mile turf race. Film Maker, who figured to vie for favoritism with Ocean Drive, was scratched because her trainer, Graham Motion, believed the turf condition - yielding - wouldn't be to her liking.

Pletcher was 5 for 5 on the card, while Velazquez rode five winners from seven mounts. Velazquez set the Saratoga record for most wins in a day - six - in 2001. Five winners are the most saddled by Pletcher in one day.

Pletcher, who went 0 for 10 on Travers Day, said, "To get five, everything has to fall the right way."

Pletcher and Velazquez's other winners were Ready's Gal ($9.40), Tiffany Touch ($6.30), Navesink ($13), and Forty Five ($5.40). Three of the horses were favorites. Tiffany Touch was a pickup mount for Velazquez after the fourth race was moved to the main track.

Velazquez said: "Awesome, awesome. I kind of like this kind of stuff."

Ocean Drive ($6.20) covered the distance in 1:43.92.

Ocean Drive, a 4-year-old daughter of Belong to Me, is owned by Sy and Bonnie Baskin.

After Monday's card, Velazquez leads the standings with 55 winners. Pletcher tops the trainers' list with 31. There are six racing days left in the meet. Velazquez won't ride here Monday because he will be at Philadelphia Park to ride the Pletcher-trained Pollard's Vision in the Pennsylvania Derby.

Last year at the 36-day meet, Velazquez and Pletcher set Saratoga records with their meet-end victory totals of 61 and 35.

No one hit the day's pick six, sending a carryover of $40,585 into Wednesday's pick six pool.