With the $260,000 Joe Gerrity Jr. Memorial Pace being canceled this season, the richest race of 2020 at Saratoga Casino Hotel was Wednesday evening’s $156,500 New York Sire Stakes event for three year old trotting fillies. Love A Good Story (Chapter Seven- Celebrity Lovin- Andover Hall) was the public’s 1-5 betting favorite while in the midst of another monster campaign.

Andy Miller pilots the sophomore filly for trainer Julie Miller and owners Daniel Plouffe, Pinske Stables and Kentuckiana Racing Stable and moved the super soph out to the early lead on Wednesday. Untested in lap one, Love A Good Story reached the half in a comfortable 58.4 before picking up the pace a bit and checking in at three quarters in 1:27.1. The favorite had little difficulty putting the finishing touches on a measured length and a quarter victory that came in 1:55.4.

Without A Warning (Jason Bartlett) charged home to be the runner-up in the featured race while No Mas Drama (Joe Bongiorno) held on to finish third. For Love A Good Story, it was win number five in seven starts in 2020 and the twelfth win in seventeen career starts for the filly who now has over a half million dollars in earnings following Wednesday’s score.

While Miller sat behind the winner of the biggest race on the card, Jason Bartlett was the sulky star of the evening as the standout reinsman piloted six winners on Wednesday to continue what has been a big summer at the Spa for the 39 year old driver who has often come to town to drive on Sire Stakes evenings.

Live racing resumes on Monday afternoon at Saratoga with a first post time set for 12 Noon.

Mike Sardella

Photo: Melissa Simser-Iovino

Hudson Phil (Shanghai Phil) made his return to the Saratoga Casino Hotel winner’s circle on Tuesday afternoon, an area is has been very familiar with over the course of the last few years. The Jackie Greene-trained five year old rattled off eight Open Pace victories in 2019, the second most of any horse at the Spa last season. Recently, Hudson Phil has spent much of his time competing out of town but the standout pacer raced in Tuesday’s $8,500 at Saratoga and went off at odds of 5-2. Fresh off a stint at Yonkers and the Meadowlands, Hudson Phil flashed early speed on Tuesday with driver Shawn Gray finding an early spot with him in a first quarter that went in 26.2. Hudson Phil wasn’t on the inside very long as he moved first-over on the leader after a 55.4 half. Working hard on the outside in a 28 second third quarter, Hudson Phil took the lead turning for home and narrowly held off the stretch threat from Funknwaffles (Billy Dobson) who came up just inches shy at the wire. Superstar pacer Crockets Cullen N (Larry Stalbaum) followed the cover of Hudson Phil before finishing third in the mile clocked in 1:53.2. The win was third of the season for Hudson Phil and just the second in the local Open Pace. He paid $7.70 to win and led an exacta with Funknwaffles second that returned $23.20. The triple with Crockets Cullen N third paid $49.80. Hudson Phil is owned by the Kellogg Racing Stables of Queensbury, NY.

Live racing continues on Wednesday evening at Saratoga with a first post time of 7:15pm. New York Sire Stakes action is featured with three year old trotting fillies taking center stage highlighted by a $156,600 race for the ladies.

Mike Sardella

Photo: Melissa Simser-Iovino

There is a new track record for two year old pacing fillies at Saratoga Casino Hotel after Linda Toscano’s Heart Of Mine (Roll With Joe-Acquavella-Western Ideal) paced to a 1:53.2 victory in her $70,300 division of the New York Sire Stakes on Monday afternoon. In a race with two fillies that were sub 2-1 odds in the wagering sitting one-two throughout three quarters of the mile, Heart Of Mine powered up and past those rivals around the final turn before pacing away to score impressively and break her maiden. Heart Of Mine was a distant second in her previous start to stalwart Test Of Faith but sprung the mild upset on Monday after her one big brush was plenty to best her rivals. Jim Marohn Jr. piloted the now record-setting freshman filly, who is owned by Fred Wallace, Bay’s Stb, Radio Rcg Stb and Camelot Stb., to her first career win in on an afternoon that was dominated by the 38 year old reinsman. Marohn also sat behind the winner of the other $70,300 Sire Stakes event as Test Of Faith (Art Major-Cannae Cammie-Cam’s Card Shark) went coast-to-coast as her race’s heavy favorite en route to her fourth win in five career stakes tries. Brett Pelling trains Test Of Faith who scored decisively on Monday, drawing away to prevail in 1:53.4 and give Marohn a sweep of the co-featured Sire Stakes races and three winners on the card. Test Of Faith, who was backed to odds of 1-9, moved her career earnings to over the $145,000 mark in just five starts for owners Melvin Segal, Eddie Gran and Kentuckiana Racing Stable. The previous track record for two year old pacing fillies belonged to So Awesome who scored a stakes victory in 1:53.3 in 2018 with Tim Tetrick in the bike.

Live racing continues at Saratoga on Tuesday afternoon starting at 12 Noon and then takes place on Wednesday evening when NY Sire Stakes action is once again featured. First post on Wednesday is set for 7:15pm.

Mike Sardella

Photo: Melissa Simser-Iovino

Deetzy (Jereme’s Jet) dropped and popped on Monday afternoon to give the meet’s leading driver at Saratoga Casino Hotel one of his four winners on the card. Billy Dobson has been the dominant driving force at the Spa for over a decade and on Monday, the 36 year old scored a grand slam. With a couple of Saratoga’s regulars off their drives for the matinee, Dobson picked up some extras assignments. One of the drives he picked up was behind Deetzy for trainer Jimmy Nickerson. Deetzy has been a participant of the Open Pace for the last few seasons and dropped from that level on Monday into a $5,750 conditional race. The eight year old veteran got a pocket trip behind a fellow class-dropper and shook loose around the final turn as dueling leaders slugged it out. Deetzy powered past his rivals in the stretch before stopping the timer in 1:54.3 to record his second victory of the season. The win was one of four on the day for Dobson who scored mild upsets behind trotters Amazing Sevens for trainer Margaret Spagnola, who had three winners on the card, and Storming Mist, who prevailed in his first career Spa start. The meet’s leading reinsman also guided young trotter Standing Man to a Monday score to keep the three year old Andy Sardella trainee undefeated in his young career.

Live racing takes place on Tuesday afternoon at Saratoga with a 12 Noon first post. There will be no Wednesday evening racing this week.

Mike Sardella

Photo: Melissa Simser-Iovino

A Spa staple made his return to the winner’s circle on Monday afternoon at Saratoga Casino Hotel. Panocchio was the Horse of the Year at the track in 2014 and was named Pacer of the Year in both ’14 and ’15 as the Jimmy Mattison trainee was a dominant force for several seasons. Now at the age of ten, Panocchio (No Pan Intended) is still a talent and fairly regular participant in Opens both here at Saratoga and at Pompano Park in Florida where he spends much of his year. On Monday afternoon, Panocchio drew the rail while taking a drop in company off a third-place finish in last week’s Open Pace. The veteran utilized his inside post to power out to the lead though the fractions were fast considering he was untested in the early going in the $5,750 conditional race. Despite posting first half fractions of 27.1 and 56 seconds, Panocchio was up to the task on Monday and drew away from his rivals late in the mile before stopping the timer in 1:52.4 for his third win of the season and his first since returning to the Spa. Saratoga has been a place of consistency and at times dominance for the superstar pacer who has amassed over $640,000 in career earnings behind 71 lifetime victories. Gerry Mattison, the regular reinsman for Panocchio when he competes at the Spa, sat behind him on Monday for the wire-to-wire score.

The afternoon’s feature once again went the way of Crockets Cullen N (Christian Cullen) who went coast-to-coast for owner/trainer/driver Larry Stalbaum. The defending Pacer of the Year has been the fixture in the local Open Pace and its dominant force for close to a year now. After scoring ten consecutive Open wins at one point from 2019 into the start of 2020, Crockets Cullen N has now prevailed in four of the last five installments of the Open Pace as he sparkled in a 1:51.4, a clocking which serves as the fastest of the season at the Spa. The 3-5 favorite of the bettors on Monday, Crockets Cullen N survived first lap fractions of 26.1 and 54.4 to have something left in the stretch and make yet another trip to the winner’s circle for Stalbaum who has been on a tear of late.
Live racing continues on Tuesday afternoon at Saratoga with a matinee beginning at 12 Noon.

Mike Sardella

Photo: Melissa Simser-Iovino

Waiting On A Woman (Northern Bailey) overcame a bit of a tough start to win the Open Trot at Saratoga Casino Hotel for the second time in three weeks. The Kyle Spagnola trainee was his race’s even money favorite starting from post three in the seven-horse feature and driver Phil Fluet asked the twelve year old for some early speed. He and rival Mister Muscle (Shawn Gray), last week’s Open winner, squared off in a battle to the quarter which yielded a sizzling panel of 26.4. Mister Muscle made it to the top and got a half in 56.2 but wound up tiring a bit in the stretch as Waiting On A Woman closed up the inside. Longshot Mugshots Bro (Jay Randall) charged off his cover to become a stretch threat before ultimately coming up second-best to Waiting On A Woman who came on to score in 1:56.1. The veteran trotter went five years between Open wins before setting a track record for twelve year old trotters two weeks ago when he prevailed in 1:55.1 in the $8,500 Open. Mugshots Bro was the runner-up while Mister Muscle earned the show spot on Monday afternoon. The even-money favorite led an exacta and triple that returned $48.20 and $245, respectively. Waiting On A Woman, whose victory was the incredible 77^th of his career, is owned by Mike Polansky of Loudonville, NY.

Live racing continues on Tuesday afternoon with a matinee beginning at 12 Noon.

Mike Sardella

Photo: Melissa Simser-Iovino

Trainer Jaymes McAssey’s stable has returned very strong from quarantine and on Thursday afternoon, the young conditioner rattled off a pair of victories at Saratoga Casino Hotel. McAssey, the Peerless McGrath Award winner for top breakthrough trainer at the Spa in 2017, is enjoying a strong ’20 campaign and went back-to-back on Thursday’s card. Pasultimatedelite N (Bettor’s Delight) drew the rail for her try in a $4,800 conditional race for pacing mares and driver Shawn Gray got the veteran distaffer a pocket trip behind a rival who rebuffed her first-over bid last week when the two squared off. Pasultimatedelite N popped the pocket on Thursday and roared past to win in 1:55.1 to record her second victory since the return from quarantine. Her race’s 6-5 betting favorite, Pasultimatedelite N completed the back end of a McAssey-Gray double on Thursday as the pair teamed up for a score with Sporty Mercedes (Sportswriter) who was dominant in his Spa debut. Like stablemate Pasultimatedelite N, Sporty Mercedes drew the rail for his Thursday try and Gray sat the pocket with him before evacuating past the half as the rival on the front-end looked to be tiring. The move proved to be the winning one for Sporty Mercedes who prevailed in his local debut in decisive fashion. McAssey has continued to climb the trainer standings at Saratoga while in the midst of a tremendous “start” to the 2020 campaign.

Live racing resumes on Sunday afternoon at Saratoga with a first post time set for 12 Noon.

Mike Sardella

Photo: Melissa Simser-Iovino