Warrawee Unique, trained by Jeff Sorenson, won today’s feature pace in 1:53.2. He was driven to the win by Leon Bailey, who also had three other winners on Sunday’s card.

Chasethecloudsaway (Sunshine Beach) moved her record to two-for-two at Saratoga Casino Hotel on Tuesday afternoon. The Chris Petrelli-trained distaffer scored in the Fillies and Mares Open for the second consecutive week as she came from off the pace to repeat in the $15,000 Tuesday feature. Last week, Chasethecloudsaway toughed out a trip on the outside before drawing away from her rivals to win in 1:54 and spring the upset at odds of 25-1 in her local debut. On Tuesday, driver Luke Hanners again came from off the pace with the mare who was bet down to even money by the betting public. Surreal Feeling (Alek Chartrand) was the runner-up to the winner in last week’s feature while trying to overcome post eight but in this week’s installment of the ladies’ Open moved right out to the front end. Clicking off speedy first half fractions of 26.3 and 56.2, Surreal Feeling held strong throughout before getting edged out late this week by Chasethecloudsaway in a mile clocked in 1:54. Surreal Feeling, perhaps the most dominant mare at the Spa this year, had to settle for second best while Birch Island Betty (Jimmy Devaux) earned the show spot. Chasethecloudsaway’s victory was her fourteenth of the season and paid $4.10 to win on Tuesday and led an exacta and triple that returned $6.40 and $18.60, respectively. The Open winner is owned by David Del Pozzo of Methuen, MA. The feature winner’s connections secured a double on Tuesday as Del Pozzo, Petrelli and Hanners’ Beauty Is Blind (Betterthancheddar) scored a front-running victory in an $11,500 race for pacing mares.

Live racing resumes on Sunday afternoon at Saratoga with a matinee starting at noon.

Mike Sardella

Photo: Melissa Simser

Over the course of the last two months, Squee Hanover (Crazed) has been the dominant force among local trotters at Saratoga Casino Hotel. In the midst of his breakout campaign, Squee Hanover headed into Monday’s try in the $15,000 Open Trot with victories in three of his last four Open tries and in four of his last six attempts in the trotting feature. On Monday, Billy Dobson sat behind the Andy Gardner trainee who drew post six in the six-horse Open and came from off the pace. Squee Hanover rushed up first-over after a first lap that went in 57.3. The razor sharp five year old served as cover for Yonkers invader Madhatter Bluechip (Jimmy Devaux) who chased the favorite throughout but came up second-best in a mile clocked in 1:55.4. For Squee Hanover, it was the fifth Open Trot win of the season and the eleventh victory in ’21 overall. Madhatter Bluechip was the runner-up while Oh So Pine (Larry Stalbaum) earned the show spot. The exacta and triple, with the 6-5 favorite on top, came back $13.60 and $53.50, respectively. Squee Hanover is owned by Exceed Stables of Lamar, PA. For the second consecutive day, Dobson piloted four winners the card.

Live racing continues at Saratoga on Tuesday afternoon with a noon start to the action.

Mike Sardella

Photo: Cheyanne Mandy

Moonshine Kisses (Sunshine Beach) completed a big day for his connections as the five year old scored a victory in the Open Pace on Sunday afternoon at Saratoga Casino Hotel. Winning the Open for the third time in his last four attempts, Moonshine Kisses, who benefited from a scratch of last week’s Open winner Quagmire Bluechip, wound up cruising out to the early lead in the $15,000 feature. Clicking off first half fractions of 27 and 55.3, Moonshine Kisses never faced an anxious moment on Sunday, powering out to win decisively in 1:51.2 with Billy Dobson in the bike. His race’s 2-5 betting favorite, Moonshine Kisses bested Matticulous GB (Larry Stalbaum) to complete a chalky $5.50 exacta. The triple with Gunpowder N (Phil Fluet) third paid $21.60. The win was one of two on the day for the connections of Moonshine Kisses. Owners Kellogg Racing Stables, trainer Jackie Greene and driver Billy Dobson also teamed up for a victory early in the day with veteran Artful Way (Artistic Fella). One of the winningest horses in the history of the Open Pace at Saratoga, Artful Way prevailed in a $12,300 conditional pace on Sunday to move the nine year old’s seasonal earnings to over the $100,000 mark and bumping his career bankroll to over three quarters of a million dollars! For Moonshine Kisses, the win was his sixth in seventeen starts this season. Dobson piloted four winners on the Sunday matinee card.

Live racing continues on Monday afternoon with action kicking off at noon.

Mike Sardella

Photo: Cheyanne Mandy

North Country (Roll With Joe) completed a sweep of the Bunny Lake Pacing Series on Tuesday afternoon at Saratoga Casino Hotel. Owned by Jeff Nanna of Utica, NY and trained by Monica Krist, North Country set a lifetime mark in the first leg of the series (October 12) when she paced to victory in 1:54.4. Heading into the Final off a win in leg two, North Country wound up as the public’s 3-5 betting favorite following a late scratch of potential favorite Pursuit Of Speed. Distaffer Tsimis (Jimmy Devaux) scored in her division of leg two of the series following a runner-up try to North Country in the first leg and cut the mile in the Tuesday feature which was contested over a sloppy track. Tsimis was game on the lead but when North Country tipped off her cover, it was over. The sophomore filly paced right past the leader before powering away to win by almost three lengths in a mile clocked in 1:56.2. Tsimis held second while longshot Miley Rose (Jay Randall) came on to be third. For North Country, it was victory number seven on the season in a year in which she has now earned over $70,000. Billy Dobson drove the winner to all three of her victories in the series. Paying just $3.30 to win as the odds-on favorite, North Country led an exacta and triple that returned $9.60 and $91.50, respectively.

Live racing resumes on Sunday afternoon at Saratoga with a matinee set to kick off at noon.

Mike Sardella

Photo: Melissa Simser

Monday’s feature at Saratoga Casino Hotel was the $36,600 Jim Derue Memorial Trot Series Final. The 8^th annual series reached its conclusion with a race that on paper seemed like it could go one of several different ways. After all, the series’ two legs, which consisted of a total of seven divisions, saw six different horses prevail. The only two-time winner, John Stark’s Jr’s Cindy Michelle, made a break in Tuesday’s Final which meant that Pass Key (Cantab Hall), the race’s favorite, wound up inheriting the lead from his inside post position. Jordan Derue was attempting to win the series named in honor of his father and looked to be in a good spot to do so with Pass Key who is owned, trained and driven by Jordan.

The race’s 7-5 betting favorite travelled through a first half in a fast 57 seconds after parking out a longshot rival in lap one. Leg two winner Creemore (Chapter Seven) swung to the outside and followed the parked out rival before tipping three wide approaching the three quarter pole. Pass Key and Creemore engaged in a heavy duty battle around the final turn and went toe-to-toe in the stretch before Creemore surged in the final strides to prevail by a head in 1:57.4. The three year old gelding, who is owned and trained by Stalbaum, became the eighth winner of the Jim Derue Memorial Trot adding his named to the list of previous winners which consists of Jelectric, The Lindy Treaty, Showmeyourguns, Aberforth, Dressed To Impress, Missus Mia Wallace and Certify. Creemore paid $11.20 to win in the mild upset. Pass Key was the runner-up in a $34.20 exacta while Spotlessreputation (Dan Cappello Jr.) earned the show spot and rounded out a $153 triple. Stalbaum piloted the winner of Sunday’s Gary Kamal Memorial Pace Final as well as he sat behind the John Hallett-trained Some Deal Hanover. On Monday, Stalbaum piloted a hat trick as he not only won the Series Final but also guided the winner of the Derue Memorial Consolation King Jimmy to victory for trainer Robert Dill before scoring with Oh So Pine in the $13,000 Winners Over for trotters.

Live racing continues on Tuesday afternoon at Saratoga with a matinee that will feature the $35,200 Bunny Lake Pace Series Final. First post time is set for noon.

Mike Sardella

Photo: Melissa Simser

Tuesday’s matinee featured two divisions of the second leg of the Bunny Lake Pacing Series at Saratoga Casino Hotel. North Country (Roll With Joe) emerged from leg two as the only repeat winner after Billy Dobson piloted the Monica Krist trainee to her second consecutive pocket-sitting victory. After setting a career-best 1:54.4 victory in leg one, North Country again got a two-hole trip on Tuesday while mirroring the moves of fellow leg one winner Gingerbred Girl (Larry Stalbaum). The race’s favorite, Always Watching (Shawn Gray), who finished third in the race in which North Country set her new lifetime mark, came first-over on Tuesday and slugged it out with Gingerbred Girl. North Country surged up the passing lane and got the best of her rivals while stopping the timer in 1:56.4 to head into next Tuesday’s (October 26) final of the Bunny Lake Pace as the one to beat. Always Watching finished second while Gingerbred Girl had to settle for third.

In the afternoon’s other division, Tsimis (Mach Three) toughed out a first-over victory for trainer Andy Gardner and reinsman Jimmy Devaux. Tsimis, the runner-up to North Country in leg one, had the daunting task of taking on her race’s big favorite Pursuit Of Speed (Larry Stalbum) who recorded the fastest win of the series heading into next week’s Final when she cruised to a 1:54.3 score in leg one. On Tuesday, the Stalbaum trainee was again tough on the lead but succumbed to the pressure late from Tsimis who proved best in 1:55.3 to spring the mild upset at odds of 5-1. The inaugural Bunny Lake Pace Final will go for a purse of upwards of $30,000 and will be the feature on the matinee next Tuesday (October 26).

Live racing resumes on Sunday at Saratoga with a card set to kick off at noon.

Mike Sardella

Photo: Melissa Simser-Iovino

Cindy Michelle (E L Titan) became the only two-leg winner in the Jim Derue Memorial Trot Series on Monday afternoon at Saratoga Casino Hotel when the John Stark Jr trained and driven filly continued her winning ways. The sophomore filly who scored in the $50,000 New York Sire Stakes Excelsior Final last month recorded her eleventh win of the season on Monday when she went coast-to-coast to prevail in leg two of the Derue Memorial in 1:58.2. The only winner of both legs will head into next Monday’s (October 25) Final as the one to beat after recording another decisive victory. Cindy Michelle is owned by Peter Barbato of Demarest, NJ and Sam Bova Racing LLC of Irving, NY.

Larry Stalbaum’s Creemore (Chapter Seven) avenged a leg one break when on Monday the three year old recorded a win in 1:58.3 to likely sure-up a spot in next week’s Final. Creemore’s victory was his first in five starts since coming to Saratoga last month.

The fastest of the leg two winners on the matinee card was Pass Key (Cantab Hall) who is owned, trained and driven by Jordan Derue, the son of the late Jim Derue for which the trotting series is named. Pass Key, who made a break in leg one, was confidently piloted by Derue as he quarter moved in the early going and never looked back stopping the timer in 1:57.4 to be the fastest of the leg two winners and likely secure his spot in the $30,000+ Final which will take place next week.

Live racing continues on Tuesday afternoon at Saratoga and will feature a carryover of $3,025 in the Pick Five pool. The Pick Five begins in the matinee’s first race which is scheduled for noon.

Mike Sardella

Photo: Cheyanne Mandy

Sunday’s card at Saratoga Casino Hotel had a bit of a “halftime show” as a Racing Under Saddle event was featured in the middle of the matinee program. Seven trotters took part in the $5,600 event which was named the “Race to End Breast Cancer” in conjunction with breast cancer awareness month. The racing under saddle or “RUS” is also known as Monte Racing and is wildly popular in Europe. Instead of racing with the sulky attached, horses in RUS have the riders on top similar to thoroughbred racing. The seven trotters who participated in the event split the purse equally but it was Winneress who prevailed with rider Stephanie Jacobs guiding the seven year old trotter to victory in a mile clocked in 2:04.3. Winneress flashed early speed but sat patiently behind leader Slated To Win (Maria Buchanan) throughout before making his move approaching three quarters. At that point, Winneress and Slated To Win traded strides until the former drew clear in the stretch to prevail. Winneress, who is owned by Anthony Verrusso of Whitesboro, NY and trained by Symon Spicer, was presented in the winner’s circle with a black and pink blanket in recognition of his victory in the “Race to End Breast Cancer”. Slated To Win was second while Armbro Hall (Cathy Gearwar) finished third in the non-betting event. Other participants, in order of finish, were Lugar (Vanessa Karlewicz), Pine Tab (Ashley Eldred), Railroad Lane (Sietske Dijkhof) and Summer Storm (Sophie Engerran).

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

Mike Sardella

Photo: Melissa Simser-Iovino

Moonshine Kisses and Billy Dobson crossed under the wire in 1:51.4 in Sunday afternoon’s open pace. Moonshine Kisses is trained by Jackie Greene.

Melissa Simser-Iovino