There were co-features on the Wednesday afternoon card at Saratoga Casino Hotel for New York sired trotters. Each division went for a purse of $9,000. Monticello invader Chip Chip Conway (Conway Hall) was the afternoon’s most decisive winner as defending leading driver Billy Dobson piloted the Gary Messenger-trained trotter to a four-plus length victory in 1:59.4 in the first of the co-features. Chip Chip Conway wrapped up his 2019 campaign with back-to-back victories at Monticello and didn’t wait long to put one in the win column in his ’20 season as he made good at odds of 2-5 on Wednesday. The second co-feature saw Blackjack (Credit Winner) go coast-to-coast in his first start since joining the stable of Jordan Derue. Blackjack prevailed in five of the last six tries to wrap up his ’19 campaign and cruised to a wire-to-wire win in 2:00.4 in his $9,000 division on Wednesday with Derue in the sulky. Blackjack paid $6.50 to win as his race’s second choice in the wagering. The favored Guilty Desire (Billy Dobson) made a break after the start and wound up closing to be the runner-up to Blackjack despite coming from last following the early miscue.
Live racing continues on Thursday afternoon at Saratoga with a first post time set for 12 Noon.
Mike Sardella
Photo: Melissa Simsr-Iovino
