Artful Way (Artistic Fella) worked hard early and hung tough late as the four year old won the Open Pace on Saturday night at Saratoga Casino Hotel for the eighth time on the season. Frank Coppola Jr. went pedal to the metal with Artful Way early on as the speedy pacer worked past his rivals to make the lead in a brisk quarter of 26.4. Without getting much of a breather, the front-runner for Pacer of the Year at Saratoga held strong throughout while faced with the challenge of first over longshot Gibson Blue Chip (Jimmy Devaux). While Artful Way has been a winning machine this year in the feature, his eighth Open score of the year was his first since September. The race’s 1-2 betting favorite stopped the timer in 1:52 on a cold night in Saratoga to best runner-up Gibson Blue Chip and third place finisher Bet You (Stephane Bouchard). The exacta and triple paid $27.40 and $206, respectively. The victory was the tenth overall this year for Artful Way who has followed up his 2015 campaign very well with his second consecutive season of ten wins and over $100,000 in earnings. Artful Way is owned by the Kellogg Racing Stables, LLC of Queensbury, NY.
Live racing continues at Saratoga on Sunday afternoon with a matinee beginning at 12:15pm.
Mike Sardella
Photo: Melissa Simser-Iovino
