With the $260,000 Joe Gerrity Jr. Memorial Pace being canceled this season, the richest race of 2020 at Saratoga Casino Hotel was Wednesday evening’s $156,500 New York Sire Stakes event for three year old trotting fillies. Love A Good Story (Chapter Seven- Celebrity Lovin- Andover Hall) was the public’s 1-5 betting favorite while in the midst of another monster campaign.
Andy Miller pilots the sophomore filly for trainer Julie Miller and owners Daniel Plouffe, Pinske Stables and Kentuckiana Racing Stable and moved the super soph out to the early lead on Wednesday. Untested in lap one, Love A Good Story reached the half in a comfortable 58.4 before picking up the pace a bit and checking in at three quarters in 1:27.1. The favorite had little difficulty putting the finishing touches on a measured length and a quarter victory that came in 1:55.4.
Without A Warning (Jason Bartlett) charged home to be the runner-up in the featured race while No Mas Drama (Joe Bongiorno) held on to finish third. For Love A Good Story, it was win number five in seven starts in 2020 and the twelfth win in seventeen career starts for the filly who now has over a half million dollars in earnings following Wednesday’s score.
While Miller sat behind the winner of the biggest race on the card, Jason Bartlett was the sulky star of the evening as the standout reinsman piloted six winners on Wednesday to continue what has been a big summer at the Spa for the 39 year old driver who has often come to town to drive on Sire Stakes evenings.
Live racing resumes on Monday afternoon at Saratoga with a first post time set for 12 Noon.
Mike Sardella
Photo: Melissa Simser-Iovino
