Pammy Jo (Roll With Joe) sprung the big time upset in Wednesday’s feature at Saratoga Casino Hotel. The Melissa Beckwith-trained distaffer drew the rail for her try in the $15,000 Fillies and Mares Open and Brett Beckwith piloted the longshot. With the favorite carving out first-half fractions of 27 and 56 seconds, Pammy Jo sat patiently in fourth throughout the majority of the mile before swinging to the outside past three-quarters. With the favorite tiring, a host of challengers swarmed in. Pammy Jo emerged from out of a crowd in the stretch to hit the wire first in 1:53.4 to record her third win of the year and her first in the local Open. Thats Incredible (Shawn Gray) came from off the pace to be the runner-up, hitting the board for the third straight try in the local feature for the ladies, while Bontz N (Wally Hennessey) earned the show spot. Pammy Jo sprung the big upset while dismissed at odds of 24-1 paying $50.00 to win in the biggest upset the Open has seen this season. She led an exacta and triple that returned $185 and $512, respectively. Pammy Jo is owned by Jeff Epstein of Framingham, MA. The victory behind Pammy Jo was the second Open win at the Spa in the young career of 18 year old Brett Beckwith and the first for him in the Fillies and Mares Open. Beckwith also piloted Beauty Is Blind (Betterthancheddar) to a score in a $10,500 race for fillies and mares on Wednesday as the strong rookie campaign continues for the young reinsman.
Live racing resumes on Sunday afternoon with a matinee beginning at noon.
Mike Sardella
Photo: Melissa Simser-Iovino
