We had racing under the lights at Saratoga Casino Hotel for the first time in nearly a year and a half on Saturday night and the light aspect almost didn’t happen. Some power outages in the area resulted in the track lights not functioning early in the card but the problem was rectified midway through the eleven race program. The feature for the night was the $14,000 Open Pace which consisted of six top-flight competitors and went the way of a horse who was competing at the Spa for the first time this season. The Patti Harmon-trained Kerford Road A (Somebeachsomewhere) was the public’s 6-5 betting favorite after coming in off a strong stint at both Tioga Downs and Yonkers Raceway. Shawn Gray moved Kerford Road A out to the lead in the early going and the seven year old enjoyed soft fractions of 28 and 57 seconds in lap one. After cruising through the leisurely first-half fractions, the race seemed like it was over. And it was. Kerford Road A went coast-to-coast in 1:52.3 highlighted by a final half in 55.3 en route to his first victory in the local Open Pace. Wyatt J (Billy Dobson) sat the pocket to the winner and wound up finishing second while American Zest A (Larry Stalbaum) earned the show spot. For Kerford Road A, it was the fifth win of the season in a year in which he has hit the board in thirteen of his twenty starts. The Open Pace winner is owned by John Campagnuolo, the Harmon Racing Stable and Winners Circle Racing.
Live racing resumes on Monday afternoon at Saratoga with a matinee beginning at Noon.
Mike Sardella
Photo: Cheyanne Mandy
