Slugfest (Conway Hall) continued his winter dominance on Sunday afternoon at Saratoga Casino Hotel as the Maureen Salino trainee scored another victory in the Open Trot. Reduced to a five-horse field after a scratch, the $12,000 feature saw Slugfest make the early lead and never look back. Jay Randall has been the regular driver behind the two-time Trotter of the Year at the Spa and confidently piloted the race’s 4-5 favorite on Sunday as Slugfest coasted to a wire-to-wire victory in 1:58.1. Pocket sitter Lucid Thoughts (Frank Coppola Jr) was the runner-up while Just Make Believe (Mark Beckwith) earned the show spot. In three tries in the local Open this winter, Slugfest has two wins and a second. His victory was the second on the afternoon for his owners Tom Vassilou and Nick Tallarico whose A Jersey Contract (Lucky Chucky) prevailed earlier in the day for Salino and Randall. For the eight year old Slugfest, it was career win number 37.
Live racing resumes on Thursday afternoon at Saratoga with a 12:15pm first post.
Mike Sardella
Photo: Melissa Simser-Iovino
