There were eight County Fair Finals as part of the New York Sire Stakes on Friday night at Saratoga Casino Hotel. The two and three year old pacers and trotters who accrued the most points while traveling throughout the state in the fair circuit all summer long competed in the finals on Friday night. Red hot reinsman Jimmy Devaux stayed that way on Friday as the veteran chauffeur piloted four winners among the eight fair finals that each went for a purse of $10,000. There was one non-betting race among the eight finals and it was two year old colt pacer Buckys Brat (Quik Pulse Mindale) who prevailed to continue his amazing summer. Devaux piloted the Larry LaPage trainee to a wire-to-wire win in the non-wagering event as the freshman stopped the timer in 1:56.1 for his eleventh win in fifteen seasonal tries. A dominant force this summer in the fair circuit, Buckys Brat will likely take part in the Excelsior Final as well as the two year old has been on a tear of late in Excelsior B’s as part of the NY Sire Stakes. Devaux drove the winner of the three year old filly pace as Bonita Island (Artiscape) prevailed on the engine and guided longshot Royal Bahama (RC Royalty), who overcame his outside post, to a win in the division for two year old colt and gelding trotters. Devaux’s final victory on the night came with the Dave Dewhurst-trained Anja (Credit Winner) who scored in the three year old filly final to complete the grand slam for Devaux. There was a pair of upset winners in County Fair Finals as Gary Clark’s Golden Attitude (Conway Hall) scored at odds of 12-1 in the three year old colt and gelding trot final while Napper Tandy (Art Major) upset at 17-1 in the three year old pace final for colts and geldings with Ben McNeil in the sulky. The other winners on Friday night were NY Spirit (Lucky Chucky) in the freshman filly trot final with Frank Coppola Jr. in the sulky while Casie’s Believer (Betterthancheddar) scored in the freshman filly pace for Shawn Gray to wrap up the evening.
Live racing continues on Saturday night at Saratoga with a 6:45pm first post.
Mike Sardella
Photo: Melissa Simser-Iovino
