Billy Dobson won his sixth driving title at Saratoga Casino Hotel in 2018. The young, yet veteran reinsman has picked up right where he left off last year in the first couple weeks of racing at Saratoga in 2019. On Wednesday’s matinee card, Dobson scored wins in two of the three co-featured races for trotters. Dobson piloted Muzzy’s Muscles in the first of the day’s three $9,000 races for New York sired trotters. After coming up second-best last week as her race’s even money favorite, Muzzy’s Muscles (Credit Winner) would not be denied on Wednesday posting a 1:59.2 victory, the fastest win time of the co-features by more than two seconds.
Dobson piloted the Tim Collins-trained Follow Your Dreams (Muscle Mass) to a 2:01.3 score as he pulled the pocket just after the half with the mare who showed promise in ’18 as a three year old before having her season cut short. Follow Your Dreams recorded her first victory of the ’19 campaign on Wednesday to complete a driving double for Dobson who is already out to the lead in the driver standings in the season’s first couple weeks of action.
Trainer-driver Phil Fluet had the favorite in all three of the co-features on the matinee program and following runner-up tries with his first two trotters, he secured a victory in the last of the trio of $9,000 events for high-steppers. Lady Macbeth was the public’s 2-5 betting favorite and wound up having a long journey on the outside to overcome. She toughed out the difficult trip and edged away from her rivals in the stretch before stopping the timer in 2:01.4.
There will be a carryover of $3,071 in the Pick Five pool for Thursday with the Pick Five beginning in the afternoon’s first race. Also, there is a $25,000 guarantee in the Triple pool in race 5 on the matinee card. First post time is set for 12:00pm.
Mike Sardella
Photo: Melissa Simser-Iovino
