Always Watching recorded her second Open win of the season on Tuesday after she went coast-to-coast in the matinee’s feature at Saratoga Casino Hotel. Jordan Derue owns, trains and drives the mare who last year was the Horse of the Year at the Spa. Always Watching, a six year old by He’s Watching, won nine local Opens in 2023 and ten races in total en route to almost $120,000 in earnings and the Horse of the Year honors.
Tuesday’s victory in the $15,000 Fillies and Mares Open was her second in ’24 and came in a seasonal best 1:54. Always Watching worked hard in lap one as she rattled off quarters of 27.2 and 55.4 before stealing a bit of a breather in the third quarter. The Derue stable star held strong and had just enough to withstand the late bid from back-to-back Open winner Arizona (Brett Beckwith) who was the race’s favorite despite drawing post eight.
Fond Memories A (Larry Stalbaum) earned the show spot on Tuesday in a race that saw Always Watching pay $7.90 to win and lead an exacta and triple that returned $17 and $78.50, respectively.
Live racing resumes on Saturday evening at Saratoga with a first post time set for 5pm.
Mike Sardella | Saratoga Casino Hotel | Saratoga Springs, NY
Jessica Hallett photo
