photo by: Cheyanne Mandy

Cash Me Out (Cash Hall) loves to win and did what he loves once again on Sunday afternoon at Saratoga Casino Hotel. The Kyle Spagnola-trained trotter is one of the winningest horses of all time at the Spa and the veteran is showing no signs of letting up. With one victory under his belt in 2022, Cash Me Out was back into the featured race for trotters last week when he finished fourth. On Sunday afternoon, the eleven year old was the 2-1 second-choice in the wagering in the $15,000 Open Trot and flashed early speed to get the lead with driver Phil Fluet at the controls. Cash Me Out cruised unopposed through a first half in 59.4 and really felt just mild pressure after checking in a three-quarters in 1:28.3. The millionaire highstepper then kicked away turning for home while under just mild encouragement from Fluet to secure another victory in the Open stopping the timer in 1:57.1. The win was number 71 in the career of Cash Me Out who is owned by Mike Traylor of Ballston Spa, NY. Longshot Bold Creation (Leon Bailey) finished second while Gigfy (Alek Chartrand) earned the show spot to hit the board in the Open for the seventh time in his eight seasonal starts. Cash Me Out paid $6.70 to win and led an exacta and triple that returned $76.50 and $219.50, respectively.

Live racing continues on Monday afternoon with a matinee beginning at Noon.

Mike Sardella
Photo: Melissa Simser

Hudson Phil prevailed in the first installment of the Open Pace this season at Saratoga Casino Hotel in early February. The Jackie Greene trainee has been a force at the Spa for the last few years and is once again establishing himself as a top-flight pacer in the early stages of the ’22 campaign. After springing an upset on opening weekend, Hudson Phil had a second, a third and a fourth in the local Open before hitting the board in consecutive starts at Yonkers Raceway. On Saturday night, the seven year old was back in town and wound up as the 8-5 betting favorite in the $15,000 Open Pace at the Spa. Billy Dobson piloted the Greene-trained pacer who sat back in the early going as several rivals slugged it out in the first half. After watching the first half go in 56 seconds, Hudson Phil started to make his move and tipped three-wide approaching the three-quarter pole before swooping the group and opening up a big lead. Hudson Phil drew away from the competition to win by almost seven lengths in 1:53 to record his second Open win of the season. Mikibytheseaside (Jay Randall) made his Open Pace debut on Saturday and finished second despite drawing post eight while Elite Retreat (Jimmy Devaux) earned the show spot. Hudson Phil paid $5.30 to win and led an exacta and triple that came back $17 and $164.50, respectively. The winner is owned by the Kellogg Racing Stables of Queensbury, NY who now have four victories in the Open Pace this year, two with Hudson Phil and two with local superstar Artful Way. While Dobson scored the victory in the Open, Leon Bailey was the evening’s driving star as Vernon Downs’ back-to-back top reinsman drove five winners on the Saturday card.

Live racing continues on Sunday afternoon. There is a Pick Five carryover of $2,460, a Pick Six jackpot carryover of $1,624. First post time is set for Noon.

Mike Sardella

Photo: Melissa Simser

Chasethecloudsaway (Sunshine Beach) has been a force in the Fillies and Mares Open at Saratoga Casino Hotel early in the season. A winning machine in 2021, the Chris Petrelli-trained distaffer has gotten off to a great start to her ’22 campaign as well. After winning three consecutive tries in the feature for mares in February, Chasethecloudsaway went on a two-race “losing streak” which is only noteworthy due to the fact that she has won 19 times in ’21-’22 heading into her most recent start. On Monday afternoon, the five year old came from off the pace as the race’s favorite Dashintothebeach N (Jimmy Devaux) cut the mile in her debut in the Open. That one cruised through a first half in 57.1 before being confronted by longshot Mckella (Shawn Gray) who took to the first-over path in an attempt to reel in the favorite who is the winningest horse in the young meet at the Spa. Chasethecloudsaway followed the cover until tipping off of it around the final turn as Dashintothebeach N appeared vulnerable late in the mile. The race’s second choice in the wagering at odds of 5-2, Chasethecloudsaway displayed that nose for the finish line and ranged up in time to score in the feature, stopping the timer in 1:54.1 for a new seasonal mark. Dashintothebeach N showed herself well in her debut in the Open and finished second while Mckella earned the show spot. The exacta and triple in the race returned $17 and $118.50, respectively. Chasethecloudsaway, who is now four-for-six in the $15,000 ladies’ feature this season, paid $7.60 for the win on Monday. She is owned by David Del Pozzo of Methuen, MA and was piloted to her feature score by Luke Hanners.

Live racing resumes on Saturday evening at Saratoga with a thirteen-race card set to begin at 5PM.

Mike Sardella

Photo: Melissa Simser

Dewey Arnold (Deweycheatumnhowe) rattled off back-to-back victories in the Open Trot in early March at Saratoga Casino Hotel before taking a couple of weeks off and making his return on Sunday afternoon. Assigned post eight in his attempt to three-peat, Dewey Arnold was one of three 2-1 co-favorites in the $15,000 feature for high-steppers. Driver Jimmy Devaux took the Dave Dewhurst trainee back at the start coming away seventh only due to an early breaker in the race. Dewey Arnold moved to the outside approaching the half but couldn’t flush any cover before coming after the race’s leader Madhatter Bluechip (Brett Beckwith), another of the race’s co-favorites. Dewey kept plugging away and though it appeared the task would be too difficult, the four year old star proved otherwise surging in the stretch before stopping the timer in 1:56.4 to complete his hat trick. Gigfy (Alek Chartrand) continued his strong season by closing to be second while Madhatter Bluechip had to settle for the show spot.

Dewey Arnold, who is owned in tandem by Dewhurst and Philip Hale, now has seventeen wins in his 35 career starts and is just shy of the $300,000 in lifetime earnings. On Sunday, he paid $6.40 to win and led an exacta and triple that returned $33.40 and $134.50, respectively. The victory in the Open was one of five on the day for Devaux who currently sits second in the driver standings in the early stages of the ‘22 campaign at the Spa.

Live racing continues on Monday afternoon at Saratoga with a matinee that kicks off at noon.

Mike Sardella

Photo: Melissa Simser

With no Open Pace on the docket, the $13,000 Winners Over for pacers was the feature at Saratoga Casino Hotel on Saturday night. Mikibytheseaside (Always B Miki) made his 2022 debut in the feature coming off a pair of qualifiers in which he went coast-to-coast. The Andy Sardella trainee came to the Spa last fall and rattled off victories in his first three local starts before taking the winter off. On Saturday, he was the 9-5 second choice in the wagering when driver Jay Randall pointed him out to the lead in the Winners Over race. Following a reasonable first half that went in 57.3, the four year old cruised through a third quarter in 27.3 while hounded by the favored Oregon Trail (Billy Dobson) who was first-over. Mikibytheseaside put that rival away in the stretch and reported home a winner in 1:54 in his return. Oregon Trail was a game runner-up while Northern Rein (Leon Bailey) earned the show spot. Mikibytheseaside paid $5.90 to win and led an exacta and triple that returned $19.20 and $240, respectively. The winner is owned by Mike and Bill Pozefsky of New York.

Live racing continues on Sunday afternoon at Saratoga with a matinee that begins at noon.

Mike Sardella

Photo: Melissa Simser

Birch Island Betty (Big Jim) established herself as a factor in the Fillies and Mares Open at Saratoga Casino Hotel late last season. The Eve Bergeron trainee won the ladies’ feature twice in 2021 in a season that saw her hit the board in 21 of her 38 starts. Birch Island Betty made her ’22 debut in early March and has shown improvement every week. Heading into Monday afternoon’s try in the $15,000 Open for distaffers off a second-place finish, the seven year old appeared poised for her first score of the young season. Brett Beckwith took her back in the early going as a host of longshots slugged it out at the start. First half fractions of 27.1 and 56 seconds set the table for closers and Birch Island Betty made her move heading towards the three-quarter pole. The talented mare pulled off a three-wide move and drew away a bit from her rivals around the final turn. Robyn Camden (Billy Dobson), the winner of the last two installments of the local Open for fillies and mares, came from last on Monday and also made steady progress in the race’s final quarter. That classy mare came up short of threepeating as Birch Island Betty held strong in the stretch before stopping the timer in 1:55 on a cold afternoon in the Spa City. Birch Island Betty paid $7.30 to win and led an exacta with Robyn Camden second that returned $21.60. Longshot Mc Kella (Jimmy Devaux) earned the show spot and rounded out a triple that came back $112.50. Birch Island Betty is owned by Dany Grenier, of Quebec, Canada.

Live racing resumes on Saturday evening at Saratoga with a first post set for 5pm.

Mike Sardella

Photo: Melissa Simser

With no Open Trot on the docket, there were co-features for Winners Over trotters on Sunday afternoon at Saratoga Casino Hotel. All eyes were on the track’s defending Trotter of the Year as Cash Me Out (Cash Hall) made just his second start of the season. The Kyle Spagnola trainee was the 6-5 betting favorite in his division of the $13,000 Winners Over and wasted no time moving out to the lead. Driver Phil Fluet set comfortable fractions for Cash Me Out who wound up powering away from his competition in the stretch before stopping the timer in 1:57.1 to record his first win of the year and 70^th in his amazing career. The eleven year old, who is owned by Mike Traylor of Ballston Spa, NY, is poised to head back into the Open in the coming weeks. On Sunday, he paid $4.50 to win. The victory was one of two on the card for conditioner Kyle Spagnola.

The other division of the $13,000 co-features went to another horse who recorded his first victory of the 2022 campaign. Grinder (Andover Hall) had been off since last May when he made his seasonal debut earlier this month. The six year old didn’t get his season off to the strongest start but on Sunday made a late move on dueling leaders before surging in the stretch. Young reinsman Brett Beckwith moved Grinder just at the right time and the Amanda Kelley-trained trotter got up in the final stride to win by a head in 1:57.3. He paid $10.40 to win in the mild upset. Grinder is owned by Scheigert&alliesracing LLC of Saratoga Springs.

Live racing continues on Monday afternoon with a matinee beginning at Noon.

Mike Sardella

Photo: Melissa Simser

Artful Way was named Pacer of the Year at Saratoga Casino Hotel in three consecutive seasons from 2016-2018. The Jackie Greene-trained standout was a bit lightly raced for a time following the three award-winning campaigns but any thoughts that his “Open career” was over were put to bed last year when the veteran won seven times en route to a $116,032 season. Heading into Saturday’s start in the Open Pace, Artful Way owned a pair of victories on the year, one of which came in the Saturday night featured race. Leading driver Billy Dobson sat behind the ten year old pacer who was the public’s 4-5 betting favorite in the $15,000 feature. After cruising unopposed through a first half that went in 57 seconds, Artful Way was met with the challenge of Skyway Victor (Jay Randall) who had a win and a second in his last two starts in the Open. That rival fought gamely on the outside but proved to be no match to the two-time Horse of the Year at the Spa. Artful Way held strong in the stretch to score in 1:53.3 for his second Open victory in ’22. Skyway Victor was the runner-up while Elite Retreat (Jimmy Devaux) earned the show spot. In his 69^th career victory, Artful Way paid $3.70 to win and led an exacta and triple that returned $12.80 and $51.50, respectively. The winner is owned by the Kellogg Racing Stables of Queensbury, NY.

Live racing continues on Sunday afternoon at Saratoga with a first post time of Noon.

Mike Sardella

Photo: Melissa Simser

Bluffinner (Credit Winner) was claimed at Yonkers by Jordan Derue in January. The five year old trotter enjoyed a six-figure season in 2021 and has been off to a solid start to his ’22 campaign. After being a beaten favorite in his debut at Saratoga Casino Hotel, Bluffinner rattled off back-to-back jacks for Derue including one victory in the $13,000 Winners Over.

Last week, he made his debut in the Open Trot and was backed by the betting public to the tune of 4-5 odds. The Derue trainee was a non-factor in his first start in the feature and finished fourth.

On Sunday afternoon, Bluffinner drew post seven in the seven-horse Open and was thus dismissed at odds of 22-1. Derue left a bit with the longshot and found a spot in fourth in the early going. With the favored Gigfy (Alek Chartrand) setting comfortable fractions on the engine, a first-over task appeared to be a tough one but that’s the path Derue took with his speedy trotter. Bluffinner fought gamely on the outside as Gigfy dug in.

In the meantime, Squee Hanover, who was the pocket-sitter, closed up in the inside in the stretch as the dueling leaders traded strides. Bluffinner surged one last time at the wire before coming on to score in 1:56, paying $46.20 to win in the big Open upset.

Gigfy finished second while Squee Hanover had to settle for third. The exacta and triple with the 22-1 shot on top returned $148 and $269.50, respectively. Bluffinner is owned by Derue in partnership with the FBP Racing Stable of Hinsdale, NH.

Live racing continues on Monday afternoon at Saratoga with a first post set for Noon.

Mike Sardella

Photo: Melissa Simser

Saratoga Casino Hotel | Saratoga Springs, New York