Gigfy (Broadway Hall) has been an off-and-on participant in the Open Trot at Saratoga Casino Hotel over the past couple of seasons. Usually a longshot in the trotting feature, the Brian Mattison trainee has never really established himself as a formidable Open force. That has changed a bit this season though as the seven year old who had a strong winter racing at the Meadowlands has been a factor in his limited attempts in the local trotting feature. Following back to back victories at the Spa in March, Gigfy moved up into the featured race for trotters and finished a strong, albeit distant, second to this year’s local stalwart Gruden. Though he faded on the lead as the favorite in the start leading up into Monday’s try in the Open Trot, Gigfy got some board support this week and wound up going off at odds of 9-2 in the $14,000 trotting feature. Alek Chartrand moved Gigfy out to the early lead but gave way to millionaire trotter Cash Me Out (Phil Fluet) heading to the quarter in order to get a pocket trip. With the tempo tepid in lap one, the race did not set up for closers and it was Cash Me Out and Gigfy that decided it in deep stretch. Gigfy surged in the passing lane and got up in time to record his first ever win the Open Trot, stopping the timer in 1:58.2 to edge Cash Me Out. Gruden (Billy Dobson), the race’s favorite, closed to be finish third. Gigfy paid $11.20 to win in the mild upset and led an exacta and triple that paid $46 and $142.50, respectively. It was win number four in eleven tries in 2021 for Gigfy who is owned by Gerald D’Alessandro of Ocala, FL and Bridgette Mattison of Watervliet, NY.

Live racing continues in front of the fans starting at Noon on Tuesday.

Mike Sardella

Photo: Melissa Simser-Iovino

With the Open Trot not carded this week at Saratoga Casino Hotel, the Monday feature was a $10,700 event for trotters. After a couple of scratches in the featured race, razor sharp Lazzaro (Billy Dobson) wound up as the public’s 1-5 betting favorite. The Monica Krist trainee came into the race on a four-race win streak and has been getting better every week. Staying at pretty much the same level as last week’s win, Lazzaro appeared poised to extend his streak on Monday but rival Knight Angel (Archangel) had something to say about it. Knight Angel, who is trained by Andy Byler, came in off an upset win last week (April 19) in which he went last to first in a nine-horse race. Parked the entire mile, Knight Angel was still only fifth turning for home but found another gear in the stretch before coming on to score while dismissed at odds of 9-1.

This week, Knight Angel drew post four and went off at 4-1 while tasked with taking on the red-hot Lazzaro. Longshot leader JNR Express (John Stark Jr) was carving out the fractions on the lead and Knight Angel again moved early resulting in him being two-wide for the majority of the mile. He did tuck in behind JNR Express briefly as they trotted towards three-quarters but was back out for the drive and beat Lazzaro to the punch. Knight Angel cruised by JNR Express to take the lead but the favorite had open road and had every chance to go by in the lane. The chase was futile and Knight Angel stopped the timer in 1:57.2 to complete back-to-back jacks. Lazzaro’s win streak came to an end though he did finish a strong second while JNR Express held on for third. Knight Angel paid $10.60 to win and led an exacta and triple that came back $23.40 and $69.50, respectively. Brian Cross drove Knight Angel to his pair of victories and is now two-for-two piloting the Byler-trained five year old this season.

Live racing continues on Tuesday afternoon at Saratoga with a Noon first post.

Mike Sardella

Photo: Melissa Simser-Iovino

Gruden (Muscles Yankee) scored for the second consecutive week in the Open Trot at Saratoga Casino Hotel on Monday afternoon. Billy Dobson pilots the Monica Krist-trained trotter and wasted no time moving him to the front in this week’s $12,000 feature. Enjoying comfortable fractions on the engine, Gruden didn’t face much of a threat before powering away to win in 1:57.3 while the favorite at odds of 4-5. Stone In Love (Brian Cross), who finished third in last week’s Open, sat the pocket to the winner on Monday and finished second while local legend Cash Me Out (Phil Fluet) had to settle for the show spot. Gruden, who has been a picture of consistency at the Spa early on in the campaign, has now vaulted himself towards the top of the group of local trotters after his second consecutive score in the Open. For the second straight week, Dobson piloted Krist trainees Gruden and Lazzaro to Monday scores. Both trotters are owned by Rick Dobson of Howell, Michigan. The win completed a natural hat trick for Billy Dobson who piloted three straight winners on the card. Gruden took the bulk of the public’s money in the wagering this week despite the fact that Cash Me Out was back in town to compete. The exacta in the six-horse feature paid $9.70 and the triple with Cash Me Out third came back $19.80.

Live racing continues on Tuesday afternoon starting at Noon.

Mike Sardella

Photo: Cheyanne Mandy

The Monica Krist stable had two horses in on trotting day at Saratoga Casino Hotel on Monday afternoon. Gruden led the charge from her stable and was the public’s 8-5 betting favorite in the matinee’s $12,000 Open Trot. Gruden got the pocket trip behind Gigfy (Alek Chartrand), a razor-sharp trotter who was aggressive in the feature and did prove up to the task. Gigfy cut the mile but was hounded throughout, parking out a rival in a first half that was clocked in 56.2. All the while, Gruden was in behind the dueling leaders and when he got clearance after three quarters in 1:26, popped the pocket and cruised past Gigfy before drawing away in the stretch. Billy Dobson piloted Gruden to the better than four-length victory in the feature. Gruden paid $5.40 to win and led an exacta with Gigfy second that came back $26. Stone In Love (Brian Cross) made a break behind the gate but rallied late to finish third and complete a $69.50 triple. The win for Gruden was one of two on the day for his connections. Owner Rick Dobson, of Howell, MI, had a double as his Lazzaro (Explosive Matter) was a repeat winner earlier in the card in a $6,600 trotting event for Krist with leading driver Billy Dobson in the sulky.

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

Mike Sardella

Photo: Melissa Simser-Iovino

Winning Opens is something Cash Me Out (Cash Hall) has pretty much always done. The Kyle Spagnola trainee won the Open Trot nine times in his 2019 Horse of the Year campaign at Saratoga Casino Hotel before adding another three local Opens to his tally in the ’20 season. It only made sense that in the first Open Trot contested this year that Cash Me Out prevailed on Monday afternoon. Phil Fluet piloted the veteran trotter who cruised to victory on opening day of the meet (March 1^st) when in a conditional race. In the season’s first installment of the $11,000 Open Trot on the season, Cash Me Out was the public’s 4-5 betting favorite while assigned post six in the six-horse feature. The post didn’t bother the millionaire trotter who marched out to the early lead and just cruised once he got there. When it was all said and done, Cash Me Out stopped the timer in 1:58.1 on a windy afternoon in Saratoga to record his first Open score of the year in what was his 60^th lifetime win. The local star is owned by Mike Traylor of Ballston Spa, NY. Longshot Yonkers invader Freddie Mac (Jay Randall) sat the pocket to the winner and finished second to complete a generous $68.00 exacta while Gruden (Billy Dobson) came up third-best to complete a $198.50 triple. The win was one of two on the day for Spagnola whose If Not Why Not (Muscle Mass) also made good as an odds-on favorite on Monday, cruising to a wire-to-wire win in a $6,450 trotting event with driver Brett Crawford at the controls.

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

Mike Sardella

Photo: Melissa Simser-Iovino

There have been few hotter barns in the first month of the racing season at Saratoga Casino Hotel than that of Margaret Spagnola. Defending top trainer Gary Levine leads the way in the early going of 2021 among conditioners but Spagnola hasn’t been far behind in the first few weeks of the campaign. On Monday, Spagnola’s barn stayed hot as the trotters from her stable shined. Match My Miracle (Imagistic) went coast-to-coast in a $6,150 trotting event to extend his win streak to three on Monday. Brett Crawford is the regular pilot for most of the Spagnola-trained horses and sat behind Match My Miracle as he set a new lifetime mark in his resounding, wire-to-wire victory on an afternoon in Saratoga that actually felt like springtime. Match My Miracle, who is owned by Dave Spagnola and the Our Blue Streaks Stable of NY, had a strong 2020 season that saw him win six races and hit the board eleven times in eighteen starts. Here in ’21, the five year old gelding is now three-for-three after his career best Monday score that came as the public’s odds-on favorite. Longshot Lazzaro (Billy Dobson) closed to finish second while Sweet Sofie T (Jimmy Devaux) earned the show spot. Another Spagnola-trained trotter, Amazing Sevens, almost went back-to-back with Match My Miracle on Monday as he got tracked down late in the mile in a $7,700 trotting race to finish a strong second while dismissed at odds of 9-1 as the hot start for the Spagnola stable continued.

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

Mike Sardella

Photo: Melissa Simser-Iovino

Gigfy (Broadway Hall) competed in the Open Trot on a few occasions last year at Saratoga Casino Hotel and while he didn’t fare well at that level, he is thriving in the early stages of the 2021 campaign at the Spa. Brian Mattison trains the seven year old trotter who recorded a win at the Meadowlands this winter after being lightly raced in the ’20 season. Last Monday (March 8), Gigfy dropped in class and went coast-to-coast in 1:57.3 for a decisive victory with Alek Chartrand in the bike. This week, looking to repeat, Gigfy drew post seven in a nine-horse field in the matinee’s $7,700 featured race. Chartrand was aggressive in the early stages with the sharp trotter and forwardly placed him at the start. After the race’s favorite Stone In Love (Brian Cross) surged first-over into the lead, Gigfy followed not far behind and took dead aim on the public’s even money top choice around the final turn before reeling him in to score at odds of 4-1. Gigfy stopped the timer in 1:57.2 on a cold, breezy afternoon in Saratoga to go back-to-back. Stone In Love finished second to complete a $28.80 exacta. If Not Why Not (Brett Crawford) rounded out what was a $191 triple. Gigfy is owned by Gerald D’Alessandro of Ocala, FL and Bridgette Mattison of Watervliet, NY.

Live racing continues on Tuesday afternoon at Saratoga with a Noon first post.

Mike Sardella

Photo: Melissa Simser-Iovino

Gruden (Muscles Yankee) was one of the most consistent trotters at Saratoga Casino Hotel last season. The Monica Krist trainee recorded an Open Trot victory last fall while enjoying a five-win campaign in 2020. Gruden had six second-place finishes to go with the five victories in just 19 starts last year. Now in his eight year old season, Gruden enjoyed a solid stretch at the Meadowlands this winter before finishing second from post eight during opening week at the Spa. On Monday, Gruden was the betting favorite in the $10,000 trotting feature and reinsman Billy Dobson powered the talented high-stepper out to the early lead. Gruden had his way in lap one on Monday before being confronted by a first-over Manny L (Jimmy Devaux) approaching three-quarters. The 4-5 public choice rebuffed that challenge before drawing clear in the stretch to win in 1:58.1. Pocket-sitting INXS (Shawn Gray) finished second at odds of 18-1 while Manny L earned the show spot. Though Gruden paid just $3.80 to win, the exacta and triple in the race came back $29.80 and $99.50, respectively. Gruden is owned by Rick Dobson of Howell, MI.

Racing continues on Tuesday afternoon at Saratoga featuring the first installment of the Open Pace on the season. First post time on Tuesday is set for Noon.

Mike Sardella

Photo: Melissa Simser-Iovino