Monday afternoon’s card at Saratoga Casino Hotel featured two divisions of the second leg of the “Bullet” Bob Meyer Memorial Trotting Series. Im Not Vanilla came up just shy of becoming the lone two-leg winner when the Jackie Cantine-trained trotter came up second-best at odds of 1-5 on Monday. Notmeitsyou (Chapter Seven) grabbed the early lead with his trainer Phil Fluet at the controls. The six year old backed things down and reached the half in an uncontested 1:01.2 before the favorite made his move approaching the three quarter pole. Notmeitsyou had enough left to rebuff the challenge in the stretch from Im Not Vanilla who had to settle for second while The Lindy Treaty (Chris Long) finished third. Notmeitsyou, who is owned by John Quimby LLC and the Phil Fluet Stable, paid $13.00 to win in the mild upset.

Tymal Tullo (Kadabra) punched his ticket to next week’s Series Final when the Andy Byler trainee outclosed his rivals to prevail in 2:00.3 on Monday. Alek Chartrand sat behind Tymal Tullo who tracked down his race’s favorite Itsoneofthose (Jimmy Devaux) and leg one winner Amazing Sevens (Phil Fluet) late in the game to secure his fifth victory of the season. Pulling off the mild upset at odds of 3-1, Tymal Tullo secured his spot in next Monday’s Final. The five year old is owned by Mahlon Stoltzfus of Millerstown, PA.  The meet’s leading trainer Larry Stalbaum added another pair of victories to his total led by a score in the Open Trot with his Big Box Hanover (Uncle Peter). Stalbaum piloted four winners on the card.

Live racing continues on Tuesday afternoon at Saratoga with first post time set for noon.

Mike Sardella

Photo: Cheyanne Mandy

Monday afternoon featured two divisions of the first leg of the “Bullet” Bob Meyer Memorial Trotting Series at Saratoga Casino Hotel. The series is the trotting compliment to the Charlie Hoffman Pacing Series which kicked off on Sunday at the Spa. The series’ formerly called the “Holiday Series” have been renamed this year to honor the two longtime fixtures at the Spa. The Bob Meyer Trot first leg had two divisions on Monday with each division going for a purse of $10,000. With late board backing, Jackie Cantine’s Im Not Vanilla (Chocolatier) was the 3-2 betting favorite in the first division contested on the matinee card. Driver Brett Beckwith sat patiently in the early going with Im Not Vanilla as the race’s leader Riverofroyalty (Brett Crawford) carved out the fractions. Riverofroyalty built what looked to be an insurmountable lead around the final turn but that’s when the eleven year old veteran Im Not Vanilla shifted gears and came storming home in the stretch before stopping the timer in 1:59.4. The victory was the third on the season for Im Not Vanilla who is owned by Jeff Cantine of Ballston Spa, NY.

The other leg of the series saw Amazing Sevens (Chapter Seven) go coast-to-coast in 2:01. Driver Phil Fluet worked hard to get the Margaret Spagnola-trained trotter to the lead in the early stages on Monday. Amazing Sevens got a strong middle-half breather while just mildly contested by the race’s favorite Itsoneofthose (Jimmy Devaux) before drawing away to win in 2:01. Jeter’s Way (Brett Beckwith), another Cantine trainee, finished second while Itsoneofthose had to settle for third. Amazing Sevens completed a grand slam for driver Phil Fluet who piloted two winners for both Margaret Spagnola and Kyle Spagnola, including one in the $15,000 Open Trot with Kyle’s Cash Me Out. Fluet now sits just two victories away from reaching the 1,000 win plateau for his career after his huge Monday afternoon in the sulky.

Live racing continues on Tuesday afternoon with a first post time set for noon.

Mike Sardella

Photo: Cheyanne Mandy

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

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

Dewey Arnold (Deweycheatumnhowe) has had a magical year in 2021 and the young trotter added another credential to his resume on Monday afternoon at Saratoga Casino Hotel. The Dave Dewhurst-trained trotter was a dominant force in the New York Sire Stakes this summer and came into his second lifetime try in the local Open Trot with ten wins and five second-place finishes in nineteen starts in ’21. Dewey Arnold finished second in last Monday’s (Sept 20) feature and thus wound up being the 2-5 favorite in this week’s $15,000 Open after drawing post position three. Leading driver Jimmy Devaux tried to put the super sophomore trotter into play early but instead of getting mired in an early speed duel backed Dewey Arnold off in the early going. With Bridge Works (Wally Hennessey), a four-time Open winner in his own right this summer, on the front-end, Dewey Arnold was left to approach that one via the first-over path. Those two locked horns throughout the final quarter of a mile before Dewey Arnold surged in the stretch to come on and win in 1:55.1. Bridge Works was a solid second while Mister Muscle (Brett Beckwith) earned the show spot. For Dewey Arnold, the earnings from the win moved his bankroll to over $245,000 in what has been simply a sensational season for the three year old. The 2-5 betting favorite on Monday led an exacta and triple that paid $6.30 and $27.80, respectively. Dewey Arnold is owned by Philip Hale in addition to his trainer Dave Dewhurst. The Open score was one of       five on the afternoon for Jimmy Devaux who is poised to win his first ever driving title at Saratoga this season and enjoyed one of his biggest days of the meet on Monday.

Live racing continues on Tuesday afternoon at Saratoga with a matinee that is set to kickoff at Noon.

Mike Sardella

Photo: Melissa Simser-Iovino

Bridge Works (Dejambro) kept his stable red hot on Monday afternoon at Saratoga Casino Hotel as the up-and-coming star scored his fourth Open Trot victory of the season. The Brett Derue barn has been on a tear this year and the top-flight conditioner added another pair of wins to his tally when Bridge Works went coast-to-coast in the $15,000 Monday feature to finish off a trainer’s double. The five year old trotter worked hard early and clicked off a first quarter of 27.3 before getting a breather to the half in 58 seconds. Bridge Works faced very little pressure before stopping the timer in 1:56.2. Lazzaro (Billy Dobson) toughed out a first-over trip to finish second in the Open while Bucketlist Hanover (Larry Stalbaum) earned the show spot. Bridge Works was the second of back-to-back winners on Monday for Derue and driver Wally Hennessey who teamed up for a victory in a $10,000 trotting race with Manny L who overcame post eight to prevail in his return to the Spa. For owners Picarazzi, Petillo, Bullard and Derue, it was the second Open win at Saratoga in as many days as their Simple Kinda Man was a resounding victor in Sunday’s $15,000 feature for pacers on Sunday afternoon. The Monday Open winner paid $5.80 to win and led an exacta and triple that returned $43 and $342.50, respectively.

Live racing continues on Tuesday afternoon with a first post set for noon.

Mike Sardella
Photo: Melissa Simser-Iovino

Cash Me Out did what Cash Me Out does on Monday afternoon at Saratoga Casino Hotel. The ten year old veteran recorded yet another victory in the Open Trot in the matinee’s feature. The winningest horse in the Open over the course of the last several seasons, Cash Me Out left at the start but got shuffled a bit in a first half that went in a sizzling 55.4. The longshot leader Gigfy (Alek Chartrand) began to tire around the final turn and when pocket sitter Bold Creation (Jimmy Devaux) slid to the outside, Cash Me Out closed sharply up the rail and came on to win in 1:56.4. Bold Creation, the longest shot on the board, finished second while Gigfy held on for third. Cash Me Out continues to pile up wins in the Open Trot as the veteran added to his $1.29 million in career earnings with his ninth victory of 2021. Mike Traylor, of Ballston Spa, NY, owns the millionaire who won for the 66^th career time. Cash Me Out paid $7.80 to win and led an exacta and triple that came back $99.50 and $376, respectively. The win for the classy trotter in the $15,000 Open was his seventh at the Spa this season to lead all highsteppers. Kyle Spagnola trains the local superstar whose next start will be the 250^th of his illustrious career. The score in the feature was one of two on the card for Spagnola whose Ledges (Brett Crawford) was a repeat winner on Monday. Phil Fluet whose win with Cash Me Out was one of the reinsman’s three on the card. Fluet guided his trainees Askmenoquestions and Screamer to scores. Both of those trotters are owned by Michael Woodward of Oakfield, NY.

Live racing continues on Tuesday afternoon at Saratoga. There will be a carryover of $3,638 in the Pick Five pool on Tuesday. The Pick Five is a 50 cent wager and begins in the matinee’s first race at noon.

Mike Sardella

Photo: Melissa Simser-Iovino

There were three divisions of the New York Sire Stakes for two year old trotting colts and geldings that took place on Monday’s matinee at Saratoga Casino Hotel. The three races, which each went for a purse of more than $46,000, were highlighted by a showdown between two trotters in one of the divisions that each came into the day undefeated. Justice (Chapter Seven-Religulous-Muscles Yankee) came into Monday’s try two-for-two for trainer/driver Ake Svanstedt. The freshman faced the toughest task of his young career as he took on the Jim Campbell-trained Cool Papa Bell (Jason Bartlett) who was three-for-three heading into Monday’s tilt. Svanstedt moved Justice, who was bet down to odds of 1-9, right out to the early lead and enjoyed pretty leisurely fractions with Cool Papa Bell stalking him from the pocket throughout. Justice trotted his back half in 58 seconds and needed every tick of it to hold off Cool Papa Bell who surged in the stretch before coming up shy by a head in a mile clocked in 1:58.1. Justice moved his career earnings to over the $63,000 mark in just three lifetime starts for owners Ake Svanstedt, Torbjorn Swahn, Myfab, and Little E.

The second division of the afternoon saw the biggest upset among the Sire Stakes races on Monday. Valentine Express (Chapter Seven- Cantata- Donato Hanover) got the pocket ride behind the favored Quincy Market (Corey Callahan) in the five-horse NYSS event. Valentine Express rode the coattails of the two-time Sire Stakes winner throughout before powering past him in the stretch to record the biggest win of his young career. Coming into the race with less than $2,000 in earnings, Valentine Express earned the winner’s share of the $47,067 purse for owners Salvatore Vullo and James De Armond of New York. Valentine Express, who is trained by Jessica Okusko, scored in 1:59.4.

The final division of the day went to Molotov Cocktail (Chapter Seven-Moonlight Cocktail-Kadabra) who never had an anxious moment before stopping the timer in 1:58.3. The two year old trotter came in off an eleven length victory at Batavia which was the second win in NY Sire Stakes competition in his freshman campaign. The public’s 1-2 betting favorite on Monday coasted to a wire-to-wire victory with Brian Sears in the sulky. Molotov Cocktail is owned by Richard Gutnick and Gary Cocco of PA in partnership with Thomas Pontone of Holmdel, NJ and trained by Linda Toscano.

Live racing continues on Tuesday afternoon featuring a carryover of $3,872 in the Pick Five pool starting in the first race which is set for noon.

Mike Sardella

Photo: Melissa Simser-Iovino

Lazzaro (Explosive Matter) has had his breakout season in 2021 at Saratoga Casino Hotel and on Monday the five year old trotter won the Open for the first time in his career. The Monica Krist-trained Lazzaro put together an impressive win streak early on in the campaign before moving up into Open company at the Spa. The trotter, who is owned by Rick Dobson of Howell, MI, went through a brief funk at the beginning of the summer but righted the ship with a career-best score at Tioga Downs in July when he won in 1:55.4 over the 5/8 mile track in the Southern Tier of New York. Upon winning in his return to the Spa the following week, Lazzaro wound up back in the Open and finished third against the top trotters on August 2^nd. After making a break in last week’s installment of the Open, Lazzaro went off at odds of 7-2 on Monday afternoon when he wound up getting a first-over trip with Billy Dobson in the sulky. The five year old spent about 5/8 of the mile on the outside before finally putting away Bridge Works (Jimmy Devaux) who had won the last two Opens at the Spa. Millionaire trotter Cash Me Out (Phil Fluet) sat the pocket to Bridge Works before getting by him in the stretch to finish second to Lazzaro who stopped the timer in a career-best 1:55.4. The win in the $14,000 feature was the first in the Open Trot in the career of Lazzaro whose victory was his eleventh on the season. Paying $9.00 to win, Lazzaro led an exacta with Cash Me Out second that returned $31.60. The triple, completed by Bridge Works, paid $95.00.

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

Mike Sardella

Photo: Melissa Simser-Iovino

Bridge Works (Dejambro) became the fourth horse to go back to back in the Open Trot this season at Saratoga Casino Hotel when the Brett Derue trainee cruised to a wire-to-wire win on Monday afternoon. Acquired by Derue just two weeks ago, Bridge Works prevailed in his debut for new connections last week (Aug 2) when he pulled off a mild upset winning in 1:56.2 after a first-over journey. On Monday, Bridge Works wasted little time as his race’s 4-5 betting favorite as reinsman Wally Hennessey powered the five year old out to the early lead in the $14,000 feature. After coasting through a comfortable first half in 57.4, Bridge Works didn’t face much of a challenge in the final lap as he cruised to a nearly three-length victory in a career-best 1:55.1. Gettin Messi (Chris Long) was the runner-up to Bridge Works for the second consecutive Monday afternoon to complete a $20 exacta while longshot Bucketlist Hanover (Larry Stalbaum) finished third in a triple that paid $191. Bridge Works, who is owned by Picarazzi, Bullard, Petillo and his trainer Brett Derue, won for the sixth time of the season and has now piled up over $60,000 in earnings in 2021. The rising star adds his name to the list that consists of Gruden, Cash Me Out and Exarch as trotters to win the Open on at least two consecutive occasions. It was just another day at the office on Monday for Hennessey as the Hall of Fame driver piloted three winners on the card.

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

Mike Sardella

Photo: Melissa Simser-Iovino