Sunday’s feature at Saratoga Casino Hotel was the seventh annual Jim Derue Memorial Trotting Series Final. Going for a purse of $38,000, the Final featured eight trotters who battled it out on the previous two Sunday afternoons. Certify (Credit Winner) was the dominant force in the two legs of the series as the Lance Hudson trainee romped on the engine in back-to-back tries to continue his terrific 2019 campaign. Certify, who won the $55,000 New York Sire Stakes Excelsior Final contested at Saratoga last month, had little difficultly in the two $10,000 legs of the Jim Derue Memorial and was the public’s odds-on favorite in the Sunday Final contested over a sloppy track. Mark Beckwith sat behind Certify and moved the sophomore trotter out to the early lead, a lead they would never relinquish. Certify went coast-to-coast in 1:56 to complete the series sweep and become the seventh winner of the Jim Derue Memorial Trotting Series adding his name to the list of previous winners which consists of Jelectric, The Lindy Treaty, Showmeyourguns, Aberforth, Dressed To Impress and Missus Mia Wallace. Leg one winner HL Revadon (Jay Randall) was the runner-up to Certify in leg two and finished second to him once again in Sunday’s Final. TT’s D-Jay (Jordan Derue), who joined Certify as two-leg winners, earned the show spot. The $17,500 Consolation of the series went the way of Mass Confession who pulled off a mild upset at odds of 8-1 for trainer Kari-Sue Finn and leading driver Billy Dobson.
Live racing resumes on Wednesday afternoon at Saratoga with a 12 Noon first post. There will be a $3,704 carryover in the Pick Five pool on Wednesday beginning in race one.
Mike Sardella
Photo: Melissa Simser-Iovino
