Blazing Home N (Rock N Roll Heaven) put the swoop to the group in the Saturday feature at Saratoga Casino Hotel. Larry Stalbaum owns and trains the seven-year-old who won the Open Pace last week (Feb 7) while surging home to score in 1:54.4. In Saturday’s installment of the $16,500 feature, Stalbaum piloted Blazing Home N and was content to get away last in the seven-horse Open in a race that saw first half fractions of 27.1 and 56.1. The 7-5 betting favorite methodically moved up in the third quarter and after the leader began to tire, Blazing Home N made his move and proved to be true to his name closing sharply in the stretch before coming on to win in 1:54.1. Vanderbilt N (Ron Cushing) sat the pocket behind the tiring leader before shaking free late to come on to be second while Rebellious (Chris Long) closed to finish third. Blazing Home N, a six-figure earner in 2025, has already recorded four wins this season after registering a pair of victories in the Northfield Open in January and following those scores up with back-to-back jacks in the local Open.

Live racing continues on Sunday at Saratoga with a matinee that starts at 12pm.

Mike Sardella | Saratoga Casino Hotel | Saratoga Springs, NY

Jessica Hallett photo

Blazing Home N (Rock N Roll Heaven) sizzled on a freezing day in Saratoga on Saturday as the New Zealand invader won the Open Pace for the first time. Tony Morgan was in town and catch-drove Blazing Home N for trainer Larry Stalbaum who saw his seven year old pacer win the Open at Northfield on two occasions this January. On Saturday, Blazing Home N was the 3-5 betting favorite as he left and situated himself in the pocket behind veteran He’zzz A Wise Sky (Jacob Cutting). That one blistered through a quarter in 26.2 before getting a bit of a breather and reaching the half in 56 seconds. Those two brought their battle to the stretch where Blazing Home N popped the pocket and surged by to win in 1:54.4 in the $16,500 feature for pacers. He’zzz A Wise Sky held second while Vanderbilt N (Ron Cushing) closed to finish third. Blazing Home N, who is owned and trained by Larry Stalbaum, recorded his third victory on the young campaign while logging his first ever score in the local Open.

Live racing resumes on Monday with a matinee that begins at 12pm.

Mike Sardella | Saratoga Casino Hotel | Saratoga Springs, NY

Jessica Hallett photo

Prairie Rocknroll (A Rocknroll Dance) took advantage of his inside post to take the field coast-to-coast in Saturday’s feature at Saratoga Casino Hotel. Kyle Spagnola trains the four year old who came up a head short and a length short of winning the Open in his previous two tries but would not be denied in Saturday’s installment of the $18,500 feature. Phil Fluet sat behind Prairie Rocknroll who sizzled through a first quarter in 26.4 before getting a bit of a breather and reaching the half in 56.4. The youngster had plenty left for the final half as he completed a wire-to-wire win in 1:53 for his first ever score in the local feature. Talking Tom (Leon Bailey) got the pocket trip and wound up as the runner-up while Ahi Sunshine (Jimmy Devaux) earned the show spot. Prairie Rocknroll, who is owned by Laurie Poulin, was one of two winners out of the Spagnola stable on Saturday night as the conditioner’s Rock Solid Express prevailed on the front-end for the second consecutive week in a $15,000 conditional race for pacers. Billy Dobson piloted Rock Solid Express to his back-to-back jacks. Prairie Rocknroll paid $5.80 as the 9-5 betting favorite in the Open.

Mike Sardella | Saratoga Casino Hotel | Saratoga Springs, NY

Photo: CMS Photography

Variegated (Chapter Seven- White Cheetah- Muscle Mass) broke the track record for three-year-old trotting colts on Saturday evening at Saratoga Casino Hotel. The Marcus Melander-trained high-stepper was the 1-9 betting favorite in his $82,500 division of the New York Sire Stakes and lived up to the hype. Variegated competed against top-flight trotters in recent weeks racing in the Stanley Dancer and Hambletonian Elims at the Meadowlands before returning to half mile racing in the Sire Stakes on Saturday. Jason Bartlett sat behind the sophomore for the first time and cruised to the early lead with the public’s overwhelming favorite. The first half of the race appeared to be nothing extraordinary as Variegated posted fractions of 28.4 and 58.1 but when the speedy invader was asked to crank it up, he responded in record fashion. The Melander trainee cruised through a final half in 56.1 en route to stopping the timer in 1:54.2 to lower the track record for sophomore trotting colts. The previous record of 1:54.3 was held by The Veteran who did it in 2018 with Scott Zeron in the sulky. Karinchak (Mark Macdonald) was the runner-up to Variegated while defeated by close to seven lengths. Seismic Step (Jordan Stratton) earned the show spot. The track record holder is owned by S R F Stable of Delray Beach, FL.

The other division of the NYSS for colts and geldings went the way of Seven Layer (Chapter Seven- Coffeecake Hanover- Cantab Hall) who sprung a bit of an upset on Saturday evening scoring on the engine while dismissed at odds of 8-1. Noel Daley trains Seven Layer whose victory was the first of his career despite the fact that the three year old came into the race with six-figure earnings in the ’25 campaign.

Live racing resumes on Monday afternoon at Saratoga with a matinee that begins at 12pm. There is a $17,239 carry over in the Jackpot High 5.

Mike Sardella | Saratoga Casino Hotel | Saratoga Springs, NY

Jessica Hallett photo

Mr Mclaren N (Mach Three) won for the fourth time in the Open Pace this season when on Saturday evening at Saratoga Casino Hotel, Larry Stalbaum moved the eight year old to the early lead and they never looked back. Mc Mclaren N won three Opens in the springtime before taking a bit of time off leading up to a start in last week’s featured race for pacers. Following a non-productive return try, Mc Mclaren N proved ready to roll in this week’s installment of the $16,000 Open and powered out to front-end. Stalbaum owns and trains the New Zealand invader who got a first quarter in 27.2 before slowing things down to reach the half in a leisurely 57.4. Talking Tom (Leon Bailey) sat the pocket to the leader while Soho Skyfall A (Jay Randall) followed that pair along the pylon path throughout the mile. The outer flow didn’t thrive and the top three finished just as they started with Mr Mclaren N prevailing in 1:54 over pocket-sitting Talking Tom and Soho Skyfall A. Mr Mclaren N paid $11.00 to win in the mild upset and led an exacta and triple that returned $39.20 and $103, respectively. Mr Mclaren N joins The Good Doctor and Lanjo Lee as four-time Open Pace winners at the Spa this season.

Live racing resumes on Monday afternoon at Saratoga with a 12pm first post. There will be a Pick Five carryover of $2,136 in the matinee’s first race.

The biggest upset in the sixteen year history of the Joe Gerrity Jr Memorial Pace was recorded on Saturday night at Saratoga Casino Hotel. Binge On Yankee pulled off the shocker at odds of 43-1 when he parlayed his pocket ride to victory in the richest race of the year at the Spa. Braxten Boyd sat behind the Todd Luther-trained pacer who drew the rail for his try in the $250,000 feature. The heavily favored Desperate Man (Matt Kakaley) assumed the early lead and cruised through a first half in a fast but reasonable first half of 55.2. As Desperate Man took on a pair of rivals in the third quarter, Binge On Yankee sat comfortably in the two-hole before finding room up the rail when he got loose late in the stretch. The 1-2 shot Desperate Man battled but wound up second-best to the longshot winner as Binge On Yankee came on to score in 1:51.1 to record the biggest win of his career. Howlenthehills (Ridge Warren) earned the show spot. Todd Luther became the sixteenth different trainer to win the Gerrity in its sixteen installments while Braxten Boyd became the fifteenth different driver to score a victory in the history of the year’s biggest race. Only Jason Bartlett, who piloted five winners including both of the $74,000+ New York Sire Stakes races contested on the Saturday card, has prevailed multiple times in the Gerrity. Binge On Yankee paid $89.50 to win in what was his fifth victory of the season. He is owned by Greg Luther Racing LLC of Blacklick, Ohio.

Live racing resumes on Monday with a matinee that begins at 12pm.

Mrs Cheese (American Ideal- Ms Cheesman- Betterthancheddar) sprung the upset in the $174,000 featured New York Sire Stakes race on Saturday night at Saratoga Casino Hotel. Matt Kakaley sat behind the Scott Di Domenico-trained pacing filly who drew the rail for her try in the big NYSS event. Mrs Cheese came to town off a win in a $50,000 race at Yonkers but was dismissed at odds of 13-1 in what was her third start in Sire Stakes competition. The sophomore filly sat the pocket to Send It Down Slim (Mark Macdonald) who carved out sizzling fractions of 26.4 and 56.1 in lap one. The leader held firm through three quarters in 1:24.1 feeling pressure from upset-minded Strutsville (Ridge Warren) who was first-over force in the feature. Those dueling rivals were joined in the stretch by Mrs Cheese who found open road in the passing lane before surging to score in 1:53.2 to complete the upset. Send It Down Slim was the runner-up while Strutsville was a game third-place finisher. Kakaley piloted three winners on the card as he also sat behind a pair of Excelsior Series winners on Saturday. The 37 year old reinsman guided three year old fillies Time To Strike and Beantown Deuce to victories in their respective $20,000 races. Mrs Cheese, who paid $28.40 in the upset victory, is owned by Triple D Stables Inc of Jamesburg, NJ.

Soho Skyfall A (Sweet Lou) stayed razor sharp on Saturday night when the Rob Harmon trainee prevailed in the feature at Saratoga Casino Hotel. Driver Jay Randall brushed the Aussie-born pacer to the lead past the half mile pole following a first lap that went in 56.2. Soho Skyfall A powered away some from his competitors while pacing a third quarter in 27.4 before holding off a late surge in the stretch from even-money favorite Little Willy (Shawn Gray) to score in 1:52.3. Paying $8.10 to win on Saturday, Soho Skyfall A’s victory was his fifth in ten seasonal tries. Imoutthedoor (Jacob Cutting) came on to finish third in the $13,000 conditional pace that served as the Saturday feature with no Open Pace on the docket this week. The five-year-old is owned by Go For Glory Stable LLC.

Hot Joe (Roll With Joe) completed a series sweep of the Charlie Hoffman Pace on Saturday night (Dec 7) at Saratoga Casino Hotel. The six-year-old gelding came from off the pace to prevail for the third consecutive week. Joe Nassimos trains the Vernon Downs-based pacer. Leon Bailey was in the sulky for owner JC’s Get R Done Stable of Buffalo NY. Yamaka (Aaron Byron) took second place, and Quagmire Bluechip (Chris Long) earned the show spot.

The Charlie Hoffman Pacing Series began eight years ago recognizing the longtime employee of the track who worked in the mutuel department for more than six decades! Hoffman, at the age of 101, was in attendance on Saturday night for a presentation in the winner’s circle to the victor of the series named in his honor. Hoffman is the longest ever employee of the track and was joined by friends and former co-workers to greet Hot Joe and his connections with his well-known smile and quick wit. Charlie Hoffman, truly a Saratoga treasure.

Live racing continues on today at Saratoga with a matinee that begins at 12pm. There is a $24,847 carryover for the Jackpot Super High Five.

Mike Sardella | Saratoga Casino Hotel | Saratoga Springs, NY

Jessica Hallett Photo

There were two divisions of the New York Sire Stakes contested on Saturday evening at Saratoga Casino Hotel. Three-year-old colt and gelding trotters took center stage at the Spa and Sir Pinocchio (Met’s Hall) was the star of the show. The Ed Hart-trained sophomore is in the midst of a sensational season and came into Saturday’s try with six wins and four seconds in eleven starts in 2024. Jason Bartlett is the regular driver for Sir Pinocchio who drew post five in his five-horse division on Saturday. The gelding surged out to the early lead and cruised unopposed for the majority of the mile in his $82,500 division and had plenty left in the stretch to draw away for a victory of close to four lengths. Sir Pinocchio stopped the timer in 1:55.1 over a track labeled ‘sloppy.’ With the earnings from his seventh seasonal score, Sir Pinocchio, who paid $4.50 to win as his race’s second choice in the wagering, moved his ’24 earnings to over the $400,000 mark. The sophomore is owned by Carolyn Atherton of Scarsdale, NY.

The other division of the NYSS for three-year-olds went the way of Mister Mellby (Chapter Seven) who sprung the upset with driver Tyler Buter piloting for trainer Aka Svanstedt. Mister Mellby utilized his early speed to secure an easy lead into the first turn and maintained that lead throughout before clocking a 1:56.1 victory pulling off the upset at odds of 9-1 in the five-horse Sire Stakes event. For Mister Mellby, it was the second win in eight tries in ’24. The three-year-old colt is owned by Mellby Gard Inc of Delray Beach, FL.

Live racing resumes on Saturday evening (Sept 7) with a first post time of 5pm. There will be a Pick Five carryover of $1,242 beginning in the evening’s first race.

Mike Sardella | Saratoga Casino Hotel | Saratoga Springs, NY

Jessica Hallett photo