Beau Bear completed a training double on Tuesday afternoon for conditioner Andy Gardner at Saratoga Casino Hotel. The young trotter recorded a pair of wins in 2025 in his first full season of racing and now just five starts into his ’26 campaign already has secured two victories. Leon Bailey is the regular driver for Beau Bear who started from post four in Tuesday’s $9,000 race for young trotters. Grabbing second-over cover approaching the half, Beau Bear wound up tipping three-wide at three quarters in pursuit of Six And Stones (Brett Beckwith) who carved up all the fractions to that point as the 9-5 second choice in the wagering. The Gardner trainee pressed the leader who eventually gave way in the stretch to Beau Bear who got up to win in 2:02.1 on a snowy March afternoon in the Spa City. Six And Stones came up second-best in his best start of the young season while longshot Pastor’s Nightmare (Irvin Crews) got up to finish third. Beau Bear’s stablemate Mass Cara prevailed earlier in the day when leading driver Brett Beckwith got the Gardner-trained mare a pocket trip in a low-level conditional race before seeing her surge in the passing lane to secure her first victory in 2026 in just her third start. Gardner has been riding a hot streak of late and will head into next weekend’s action among the top five in the trainer standings in a season which has just completed its first month.
There will be a Pick Five carryover on Saturday in the early Pick Five that begins in the afternoon’s first race. The carryover of $5,377 should yield a big pool for the Pick Five which is a 50 cent wager. First post time is set for 12pm.
Mike Sardella | Saratoga Casino Hotel | Saratoga Springs, NY
Jessica Hallett photo
