As has been the case dozens upon dozens of times over the course of the last five years, Artful Way (Artistic Fella) won the Open Pace on Saturday night at Saratoga Casino Hotel. The three-time Pacer of the Year at the Spa, Artful Way made his first start in the Open in 2022 on Saturday while coming off a win in the $13,000 Winners Over. The Jackie Greene-trained superstar was the 2-1 second-choice in the betting when driver Billy Dobson blasted him out to the front end in the $15,000 feature. The ten year old carved out first half fractions of 27.1 and 57.2 on a cold and snowy evening in Saratoga Springs before being met with the challenge of the race’s odds-on favorite Lake Charles (Leon Bailey). The veteran leader dispatched the first-over bid by the public’s top choice with relative ease and just needed to hold off fellow past Pacer of the Year Crockets Cullen N (Larry Stalbaum) in the stretch, a task that he was more than prepared for. Artful Way stopped the timer in 1:55 for his second victory in three seasonal tries. Paying $6.00 to win, Artful Way led an exacta with Crockets Cullen N that paid $36 in a five-horse feature while the triple came back $67.50 with the favored Lake Charles earning the show spot. Artful Way is owned by the Kellogg Racing Stables of Queensbury, NY.
Live racing continues on Sunday afternoon at Saratoga with a matinee beginning at Noon.
Mike Sardella
Photo: Melissa Simser
