Longshot Lanjo Lee went last to first in Sunday’s Open Pace at Saratoga Casino Hotel. The Jeff Sorenson-trained pacer is no stranger to winning the local Open but was dismissed at odds of 11-1 for his most recent try in the $15,000 feature. Jacob Cutting sat behind Lanjo Lee who was eighth at the half mile pole in the eight-horse Open but began to progress approaching the three-quarter pole. Despite being sixth through three quarters in 1:24.1, Lanjo Lee continued to pick off horses one by one but still had four rivals to pass in the stretch. The six year old gelding did just that as he came on to win in 1:54 to spring the upset. The favorite The Good Doctor (Brett Beckwith) came up just a head shy of winning another Open and had to settle for second-best on Sunday. ER Griffin (Chris Long) earned the show spot. Lanjo Lee paid $24.60 to win. He is owned by Gordon Swift.

Live racing continues on Monday at Saratoga with a Noon time start to the matinee.

Lanjo Lee (So Surreal) won the Open Pace for the second time of the season at Saratoga Casino Hotel when on Sunday, the Jeff Sorenson trainee parlayed his pocket ride to an upset victory. Lanjo Lee got the two-hole trip behind the favorite in a race that saw fast first-half fractions of 27.3 and 55.4 be set. The scramble was on in the stretch and when the dust settled, the favorites faltered and the longshots thrived. Lanjo Lee emerged with a victory of three-quarters of a length in 1:53, the fastest mile of the season thus far at Saratoga. ER Griffin (Chris Long) was the longshot at odds of 54-1 and came on to finish second while 25-1 Little Willy (Shawn Gray) earned the show spot in the $15,000 feature. Lanjo Lee paid $28.40 to win in the upset and led huge exotics with a $478 exacta and $1,648 trifecta (on $2 wagers). Jacob Cutting piloted the winner who is owned by Gordon Swift of Bath, NY.

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

Itsallaboutfaith N (Captaintreacherous) sprung the upset in the Sunday feature at Saratoga Casino Hotel. The eight-year-old veteran wasted little time powering out to the early lead under the guidance of reinsman Shawn Gray. Itsalltheaboutfaith N sizzled through a first quarter in 26.4 before backing it down slightly through a half in 57 seconds. The competition was stiff in the $15,000 Open Pace but whenever tested, Itsallaboutfaith N had the answers. The Gareth Dowse-trained pacer scored in 1:54.3 to surprise at odds of 16-1. Invader Jett Star A (Ron Cushing) toughed it out first-over in the feature and held on to finish second while 2025 Open stalwart The Good Doctor (Brett Beckwith) closed from post eight to earn the show spot. The victory was the third in five seasonal tries for Itsallaboutfaith N whose first two wins in ’25 came while competing in the Batavia Downs Open. The New Zealander is owned by P T Stable of Brick, NJ. Itsallaboutfaith N paid $34 to win and led an exacta and triple that returned $164.50 and $768 (on $2 wagers), respectively.

Live racing continues on Monday afternoon with a matinee beginning at 12pm.

The Good Doctor moved his record in the Open Pace at Saratoga Casino Hotel to three for four on Sunday afternoon when he overcame his outside post to win the feature. Leading driver Brett Beckwith left with the Jaymes McAssey trainee and found a spot in fourth in the early going. The razor sharp five year old was tasked with coming first-over on the race’s favorite Rocknroll Runa A (Matt Athearn). Those two squared off in a tug of war in the stretch in an Open decided by just a nose in a 1:54.1 mile. The Good Doctor registered his third Open win while tying the mark for the fastest time of the young season at the Spa. Rocknroll Runa A came up just a nose shy of his first victory of the year while Lanjo Lee (Jacob Cutting) earned the show spot in the $15,000 feature. The Good Doctor paid $8.40 to win and led a $22 exacta with the favorite second.

Live racing takes place on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesdays with matinees beginning at 12pm.

The Good Doctor (American Ideal) is establishing himself as a formidable Open Pacer in the first month of the season at Saratoga Casino Hotel. The Jaymes McAssey trainee won the first Open of the 2025 campaign on Feb 2 and followed that effort up with a strong second-place finish in his second start. On Sunday, The Good Doctor was the 2-1 second choice in the wagering and had Shawn Gray in the sulky when he swung to the outside to take on longshot leader Just Plain Loco (Jimmy Devaux). The five-year-old powered right by and opened up an insurmountable lead around the final turn before scoring a nearly three-length victory in a mile clocked in 1:54.1. Mansome (Ron Cushing) was the longest shot on the board at odds of 44-1 when he closed to finish second while Just Plain Loco held on for third. The Good Doctor, who is owned by Morrison Racing Stables, paid $6.80 to win and led an exacta and triple that returned $191.50 and $913, respectively. Reinsman Jimmy Devaux piloted six winners on the Sunday card including three for trainer Andrew Adamczyk who had four victories on the afternoon in total.

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

Trainer Jaymes McAssey finished second in the trainer standings in 2024 at Saratoga Casino Hotel. The standout conditioner didn’t waste any time getting his ’25 campaign off to a good start as he recorded a training double on the opening day card. McAssey’s The Good Doctor (American Ideal) teamed up with last year’s leading driver Brett Beckwith in the five-year-old pacer’s first ever Open try. The Good Doctor came in off a qualifier on January 29th, so he did have a bit of a “trial run” before making his first seasonal start. The McAssey trainee was bet down as one of the 8-5 co-favorites in the $15,000 Open Pace and got away fifth despite drawing post two for his return outing. Beckwith sat patiently in lap one before cutting The Good Doctor loose and picking up the cover of co-favorite Just Plain Loco (Greg Merton) approaching the three-quarter pole. The move around the final turn was enough to cement things for The Good Doctor who paced away to win by a decisive three and a half lengths in a mile clocked in 1:54.2 on a 14-degree day in Saratoga. Veteran Just Plain Loco was a strong second in the feature while 12-1 shot General Montana N (Mitch Cushing) earned the show spot. The Good Doctor, who is owned by Morrison Racing Stables, paid $5.20 to win. McAssey went back-to-back on the card when his Kassius Key (Shawn Gray) scored on the lead in an $8,000 pacing event on the Sunday program.

Live racing continues on Monday at Saratoga with a matinee set to begin at Noon.

Mike Sardella | Saratoga Casino Hotel | Saratoga Springs, NY

Jessica Hallett Photo

Bluffinner (Credit Winner), a nominee for Trotter of the Year at Saratoga Casino Hotel, wrapped up the 2024 campaign with back-to-back wins in the trotting feature. Jordan Derue trains and drives the seven-year-old who will come up just shy of recording his second consecutive six-figure season. On Sunday afternoon, Derue positioned Bluffinner in the pocket behind Dealin With Dewey (Aaron Byron) who rattled off first-half fractions of 28 and 58 and braced for Bluffinner who pocket-pulled after the leader rattled off three quarters in 1:27. Bluffinner overpowered Dealin With Dewey in the final turn before cruising out for a decisive Open Trot score that came in 1:56.1. Dealin With Dewey was the runner-up while Malibu Kid (Larry Stalbaum) closed to be third. Bluffinner, one of three nominees to be the track’s top trotter in ’24, is owned by Jordan Derue and the FBP Racing Stable.

Live racing has concluded for the 2024 season. The 2025 campaign will begin on Sunday, February 2^nd.

Mike Sardella | Saratoga Casino Hotel | Saratoga Springs, NY

Jessica Hallett photo

Senor Fantastic (Tactical Landing) won the final of the “Bullet” Bob Memorial Trotting Series on Sunday (Dec 8). Margaret Spagnola trains the three-year-old gelding who was driven to the win by Matthew Athearn. Two leg series winner Storm Bringer (Brett Beckwith) had to settle for second-best in the final despite being the public’s even-money favorite. Senor Fantastic made his move towards the front-running favorite after three quarters in 1:30.4. The 9-5 second-choice cruised past the favorite in the stretch to score by a length and three quarters in a mile clocked in 2:01. Storm Bringer was the runner-up in the $21,400 Final while longshot Nicholas Blue Chip (Jimmy Devaux) earned the show spot.

The “Bullet” Bob Meyer Trotting Series began eight years ago in memory of race announcer Bob Meyer. Bob got his start calling races at Monticello in 1970. He took over as announcer at Yonkers Raceway in 1972 and called the races there through 1997. Bob first called races at Saratoga Raceway in 1987. He took over as full-time announcer at Saratoga from 2000 to 2005, after which he continued to fill-in. Bob, who last called the races at Saratoga on December 2, 2018, passed away in 2020.

Also on Sunday, Saratoga Casino Hotel recognized the leading trainer and driver of the meet. Mark Beckwith won the training title after recording the most wins in a season for any trainer at SCH. Brett Beckwith won his first local driving title by way of a win total that will approach the 300 mark.

Mike Sardella | Saratoga Casino Hotel | Saratoga Springs, NY

Jessica Hallett photo

Trainer-driver Larry Stalbaum won the Saturday night feature at Saratoga Casino Hotel with his Heaven On High N. On Sunday, Stalbaum saw his Malibu Kid (Wishing Stone) start from post position five in the $15,000 Open Trot while looking to have his trainees win back-to-back Opens. Malibu Kid came into Sunday’s try with just one win in 2024, although the victory did come in the local Open back in February.

The six year old high-stepper has been a solid factor in the regular Sunday feature over the course of the last few months and finished second or third in five of his six starts leading up to this weekend’s try. Stalbaum made an early move with Malibu Kid who made it to the top before rattling off matching panels of 29.1 in lap one en route to clicking off a half in 58.2.

The leader never faced a challenge until the race’s favorite Remember Titans (Brett Beckwith) revved up his motor late in the mile and powered up while looking to confront Malibu Kid. The pursuit proved to be futile as the Stalbaum trainee dug in and rebuffed the favorite en route to a 1:56.4 score.

Remember Titans, the 8-5 betting favorite in the feature, came up second-best while longshot Wishing Barefoot (Brian Cross) earned the show spot. Malibu Kid paid $8.70 to win and led an exacta and triple that returned $25.60 and $78.50, respectively.

Stalbaum’s victory in the Open Trot is his second in June as his Big Box Hanover prevailed in a Sunday feature earlier in the month. Both Malibu Kid and the Saturday Open winner Heaven On High N are owned by the Shark Racing Stable of Bainbridge, NY.

Live racing continues at Saratoga on Monday afternoon when there will be a 17-race matinee featuring the NY Sire Stakes for two year old trotting colts and geldings. First post time for Monday is set for noon.

Saratoga Casino Hotel | Saratoga Springs, New York

In what has been a dominant first two months to the racing season for Brett Beckwith, the young reinsman added another five-win day to his tally on Sunday afternoon at Saratoga Casino Hotel. The 21 year old Beckwith is taking a run at his first driving title and if the early portion of the season is a big-time indicator, he could be en route to an historic 2024 campaign.

Brett Beckwith followed up a five-win Saturday card with another one on Sunday. Included in his big afternoon were four consecutive victories on the day including one in the featured Open Trot when Beckwith piloted the Jackie Greene-trained Snowpiercer. The four year old trotter by Muscle Man made his first career start in the Open last week (April 1) when he finished third in the $15,000 feature. In Sunday’s installment of the Open, Beckwith found early placing for Snowpiercer in third after leaving from post position six.

From there, the young trotter saved ground on the rail throughout and when the rail opened up, Snowpiercer surged in the stretch to come on and win by a neck in a mile clocked in 1:57.1. The upset came at odds of 11-1 for Snowpiercer who gave Beckwith his third of what would be five winners on the matinee card.

9-5 betting favorite Discus Hanover (Jimmy Devaux) was the runner-up to Snowpiercer in the feature while Summit City Sonny (Matt Athearn), last week’s Open winner, earned the show spot on Sunday. Snowpiercer led an exacta and triple that paid $92.50 and $387, respectively. The Open winner is owned by Janie Kellogg of Fort Ann, NY.

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

Mike Sardella | Saratoga Casino Hotel | Saratoga Springs, NY

Jessica Hallett photo