Tag: Harness Racing Tuesday
Saratoga Harness Racing Recap Tuesday 10/14
For the third time this season, Twin B Echo won the Fillies and Mares Open at Saratoga Casino Hotel on Tuesday. The Nick Devita-trained distaffer was the public’s 3-5 betting favorite as she returned to town following a three-start stint at Yonkers after winning her previous try in the local Open a month ago. On Tuesday, reinsman Jimmy Devaux flashed early speed with Twin B Echo who worked hard to get to the top in a 27.2 first quarter. The five year old cruised through a half in 56.3 before being met with the challenge of pocket-pulling longshot Truly. Twin B Echo turned back multiple challenges in the final quarter before proving best by a length and a quarter in a mile clocked in 1:53.4. Alittlesidehustl N (Billy Dobson) closed up the inside to be the runner-up while P L Princess C (Aaron Byron) earned the show spot. Truly was fourth. Twin B Echo, who is owned by David Hamm and the Evm Racing Stable, moved over the $200,000 mark in lifetime earnings behind her Tuesday Open score.
Live racing resumes on Sunday with a matinee that begins at 12pm.
Saratoga Harness Racing Recap Tuesday 10/7
Alittlesidehustl N has been a fixture in the Fillies and Mares Open at Saratoga Casino Hotel over the past few seasons. The Jackie Greene trainee has been a picture of consistency hitting the board with regularity against the track’s top distaffers while recording her share of victories in the ladies’ feature. With no Open on the docket on Tuesday, a $14,500 pace for fillies and mares served as the feature and Alittlesidehustl N was the race’s 1-4 betting favorite just one week removed from a second-place try as the odds-on favorite off her drop to this level. On Tuesday, the seven year old’s regular reinsman Billy Dobson took her back to last in a condensed field of five following a scratch. The favorite was patient in a first lap that went in 57.3 before beginning to make her move approaching the three-quarter pole. The Greene-trained star surged around the final turn and powered past her rivals in the stretch to score in 1:54.3 to record her sixth win of the season. The mare, who is owned by Kellogg Racing and Jackie Greene Stables, moved her earnings in 2025 to just shy of the $100,000 mark with the Tuesday score.
Live racing resumes on Sunday at Saratoga with a first post time of 12pm.
Saratoga Harness Racing Recap Tuesday 9/23
Cory Stratton recorded a training and driving triple on the Tuesday card at Saratoga Casino Hotel. Stratton brought a handful of pacing mares to town for fillies and mares’ day at the Spa and scored a hat trick led by his Cruise Alert who prevailed in the matinee’s featured race. Cruise Alert (Yankee Cruiser) spent the last month competing in the Fillies and Mares Open at Saratoga with one third-place finish to show for it. After dropping into Tuesday’s $14,500 feature for distaffers, the five-year-old drew the rail and wound up as her race’s 2-5 betting favorite with Stratton at the controls. Cruising unopposed through a first half that went in an honest 56.2, Cruise Alert faced a late bid from pocket-sitting Island Bouhinia A (Jacob Cutting) before hanging on to win by a half-length. The 1:53 clocking set a new seasonal mark for Cruise Alert. Island Bouhinia A was the runner-up while Lyons Miki (Aaron Byron) earned the show spot. Cruise Alert was one of three winners for Stratton whose Spirit Of Pearl A and Chanceoflightning continued their strong seasons with Tuesday scores.
Live racing resumes on Sunday with a matinee that begins at 12pm.
Saratoga Harness Racing Recap Tuesday 9/16
Twin B Echo (Artspeak) prevailed in the Fillies and Mares Open for the second time this season at Saratoga Casino Hotel when on Tuesday afternoon, the five-year-old toughed out a first-over journey to secure a victory. Twin B Echo drew post four for her try in the $18,500 Open for distaffers but wound up having to endure a difficult trip first-up on Waitforever N (Aaron Byron) who posted first-half fractions of 27.1 and 56.4 before being met with the challenge of Twin B Echo at the three-quarter pole. Racy Roxy A (Jay Randall) sat the pocket to Waitforever N and accounted for half of the two-pronged challenge in the lane to that leader in a stretch drive that saw four mares separated by just a length and a half at the wire. When it was all said and done, Twin B Echo prevailed in 1:54.2 by three-quarters of a length. Racy Roxy A was the runner-up while Waitforever N, a four-time Open winner at the Spa this season, earned the show spot. Twin B Echo was co-favored at odds of 2-1 on Tuesday as she completed a training triple for conditioner Nick Devita. Jimmy Devaux piloted all three winners for Devita and tallied five wins in total on the matinee card.
Live racing resumes on Sunday afternoon at Saratoga with a matinee that begins at 12pm.
Saratoga Harness Racing Recap Tuesday 9/9
There were eight New York Sire Stakes Excelsior Series Finals that served as co-features on the Tuesday card at Saratoga Casino Hotel. Jason Bartlett, who was the star of the show at Batavia on the Night of Champions last weekend, once again was the top dog among reinsman in the Excelsior Finals on Tuesday. Bartlett piloted three of the eight winners of the $100,000 per division Finals as he guided youngsters Two Twenty Swift (two-year-old filly pace), Elqueen (two-year-old filly trot) and Southwind Iron (two-year-old colt pace) to victories in their respective Finals. Bartlett, who won four of the NY Sire Stakes championships on Saturday night, has been the most dominant force in the NYSS circuit over the course of the last several years and continued to thrive this week.
Other winners among the NYSS Excelsior Finals were Mane Man Charlie (Jimmy Devaux), who upset at odds of 17-1 in the three year old colt and gelding trot, EL Nightwish (Matt Kakaley) in the three year old filly trot, Rubens (Dan Daley) in the two year old colt and gelding trot, Time To Strike (Matt Kakaley) in the three year old filly pace and Ima Perfect Choice (Brett Beckwith) who scored in the three year old colt and gelding pace. There was one winner in the matinee’s Pick Five which featured a carryover of just shy of $3,500. The one winning ticket was good for $20,495.63 on a 50-cent wager.
Live racing resumes on Sunday with a matinee that starts at 12pm. The card will feature a Drivers Challenge which pits “The Veterans” Jimmy Devaux, Mark Beckwith, Chris Long and Wally Hennessey against “Young Guns” Matt Athearn, Mitch Cushing, Jacob Cutting and Brett Beckwith in a points-based contest for charity.
Saratoga Harness Racing Recap Tuesday 8/26
Trainer Gary Levine enjoyed a big afternoon on Tuesday at Saratoga Casino Hotel. The conditioner who was the Trainer of the Year at the Spa back in 2020 ranks inside the top five in the trainer standings again this season and on Tuesday had one of his best days of the meet. Levine’s In A Wink N (Bettor’s Delight) got his day started on the right note when the five-year-old overcame post position eight to spring the upset in a $12,000 pacing event for fillies and mares. In A Wink N set a lifetime mark earlier in the month while making her debut out of the Levine stable and stayed red hot on Tuesday securing an upset at odds of 8-1 after overcoming a first-over journey. Levine went on to win three races on the matinee card when his Always B Praying and Tommy In The Sky each recorded their first local victories. Jimmy Devaux sat behind all three of Levine’s winners on Tuesday.
Live racing takes a brief hiatus and will resume on Sunday September 7th with a first post time of 12pm.
Mike Sardella | Saratoga Casino Hotel | Saratoga Springs, NY
Jessica Hallett – stock photo
Saratoga Harness Racing Recap – Tuesday 8/19
Waitforever N (American Ideal) won the local Fillies and Mares Open Pace for the first time back in June. Brett Derue trains the eight year old who went on to rattled off three consecutive victories in the ladies’ Open before heading out of town to win the Batavia feature in late July. Waitforever N returned to the Spa on Tuesday to take part in the $18,500 Open for distaffers and drew post four for the task. The New Zealand invader powered out to the early lead while under the control of reinsman Aaron Byron and after motoring through a first quarter in 27.1, backed it down to reach the half in 57.1. Rival Twin B Echo (Jimmy Devaux) moved first-over on the 3-2 betting favorite and gave the leader something to think about while checking in at three-quarters in 1:25.4. Those two battled it out and it took all the favorite had to hold off a game Twin B Echo to prevail by a head. The fourth score in the local Open for Waitforever N came in 1:54.1. Paying $5.00 to win, Waitforever N led an exacta that returned $20.20 while the triple with invader Cruise Alert (Cory Stratton) third came back $91. Waitforever N gave owners Steve Picarazzi and Brett Derue two winners on the card as their American Tour N also recorded a Tuesday victory. Waitforever N is owned in partnership by Picarazzi, Derue and Donny Bullard.
Live racing resumes on Saturday evening with action beginning at 6:45pm. There will be a mandatory payout in the Jackpot Super High 5. The carryover pool stands at $21,449.07
Mike Sardella | Saratoga Casino Hotel | Saratoga Springs, NY
Jessica Hallett photo
Saratoga Harness Racing Recap – Tuesday 8/12
Arizona won the Fillies and Mares Open for the seventh time of the season at Saratoga Casino Hotel on Tuesday. The Melissa Beckwith trainee has been the consistent force in the ladies’ Open for the last couple of years and continued her dominance of local distaffers in the $18,500 Tuesday feature. Arizona flashed early speed in the Open and after setting sail for the front-end in the early going cruised through a first lap in 57 seconds with Hall of Fame reinsman Wally Hennessey at the controls. The 6-5 betting favorite’s first challenge came from invader Easy To Please (Cory Stratton) who chipped away at the Arizona lead before drawing on even terms with her in the stretch. Arizona dug in and got the better of Easy To Please in the final strides to hold on and score in 1:53.3 to win by a nose. Easy To Please was a strong second in her local debut while Alittlesidehustl N (Billy Dobson) closed to finish third. Arizona’s victory was her eighth of the year and seventh in the local Fillies and Mares Open. With the earnings from her Tuesday score, the six year old moved over the $300,000 mark in career bankroll. Arizona, last year’s Filly and Mare Pacer of the Year at Saratoga, is owned by Wendy Timpano.
Live racing resumes on Saturday evening with a 6:45pm first post. There is a $19,034 carryover in the Jackpot High 5.
Wally Hennessey Scores 12,000th Driving Win
Hall of Fame driver Wally Hennessey added another milestone to his tally on Tuesday afternoon at Saratoga Casino Hotel. The incredible career of the 67 year old reinsman has resulted in him being tenth on the all-time wins list in harness racing history. Hennessey came into the Tuesday card with 11,999 career driving victories and the standout sulky star wasted little time reaching the 12,000 win plateau as he guided the Eve Bergeron-trained JK Party to a resounding victory in the matinee’s opener. The 1-9 shot JK Party aired in the first race propelling Wally to the 12,000 win mark which is rarified air for drivers as he becomes only the tenth pilot in history to eclipse that number. Hennessey wasted little time in his pursuit of 13,000 as he completed a sweep of the early double on the card with claiming pacer Maggie Bell. Hennessey, who has been a force in New York State in addition to being the dominant driver at Pompano Park in Florida for decades, is a member of five different Halls of Fame. Hennessey currently sits third in the driver standings at the Spa this season.
Live racing resumes on Saturday evening with a 6:45pm first post
Saratoga Harness Racing Recap Tuesday 7/15
Alittlesidehustl N (He’s Watching) has been the solid force in the Fillies and Mares Open at Saratoga Casino Hotel over the last couple of years. The Jackie Greene trainee has consistently hit the board in her starts against the track’s top distaffers in the last few seasons and on Tuesday found a spot to make the lead. Billy Dobson set sail early with Alittlesidehustl N was cruised out to the lead in a 27.3 first quarter before trying to back it down a bit reaching the half in 56.4. The favorite Arizona (Wally Hennessey) revved up the engine from the back of the pack but had a long climb to try and reach Alittlesidehustl N who rattled off three quarters in 1:24.4. Arizona got to within about a length of the lead before Alittlesidehustl N went pedal to the metal and expanded her lead around the final turn before pacing out to win in 1:53.1 by four lengths. Longshot Jive Dancing A (Jimmy Devaux) sat the pocket to the winner and finished as the runner-up in the Open for the second consecutive week while Arizona earned the show spot. Alittlesidehustl N’s win was her fifth of the campaign and came in a seasonal-best clocking of 1:53.1 for owners Kellogg Racing and Jackie Greene Stables. As the 8-5 second-choice in the wagering, she paid $5.40 to win and led an exacta and triple that returned $41.60 and $75.50, respectively.
Live racing resumes on Saturday evening with a star-studded fourteen race program highlighted by the $250,000 Joe Gerrity Jr. Memorial Pace. First post time is 6:45pm on Saturday.