Thursday afternoon brought about the first installment of the Fillies and Mares Open for the 2018 season at Saratoga Casino Hotel. Seven distaffers squared off for a purse of $12,000 through the snowflakes that fell throughout the matinee card. The Heidi Rohr-trained Tempus Seelster (Big Jim) was the even money favorite in the feature and driver Billy Dobson perched the five year old in the pocket spot in the early going. Longshot Mydelight Bluechip (Ben Mcneil) cut the mile at odds of 17-1 but when Tempus Seelster popped the pocket after pacing 5/8 of a mile tracking the upset-minded leader, she meant business. Tempus Seelster cruised to the Open victory, stopping the timer in 1:56.1 over a track labeled ‘good.’ Mydelight Bluechip held second while Media Queen N (Mark Beckwith) earned the show spot. The exacta and triple in the race, led by the even money favorite, paid $35.60 and $114, respectively.
Live racing resumes on Sunday afternoon at Saratoga with a matinee beginning at 12:15pm.
Mike Sardella
Photo: Melissa Simser-Iovino
