Driver Billy Dobson reached the 4,000 win plateau on Friday night at Saratoga Casino Hotel. At just the age of 34, Dobson has piled up victories at an incredible rate since coming to Saratoga about a decade ago. The Michigan native quickly became one of New York’s top catch-drivers when he moved east and found a home at Saratoga. Dobson won his first local driving title in 2010 and went on to be the top driver at the Spa for five consecutive seasons. Though 2014 was the last time he was the track’s leading reinsman, Dobson has continued to finish in the top three every year since. Here in ’18, Dobson is not only back atop the driver standings at Saratoga but has been dominant throughout the first four months of the season. Dobson, who is currently driving to the highest percentage of any year in his career to date, piloted young pacer Short Term to his third consecutive victory in the Friday opener to move his career total to 3,999. Dobson sat behind the Jim Nickerson-trained Osprey Blue Chip in the evening’s tenth race and track’s leading driver made history. Osprey Blue Chip cruised to an open length score in 1:54.4 for Dobson who made his 4,000thcareer trek back to a winner’s circle. At just 34, Dobson achieves the 4,000 win milestone at such a young age that there is no telling how high that win total will go over the course of the remainder of what has already been an illustrious career. Congratulations to Billy Dobson on his historic achievement.
Live racing continues on Saturday night at Saratoga with a first post time of 6:45pm.
Mike Sardella
Photo: Melissa Simser-Iovino
