Texas Terror N (Western Terror) completed a natural hat trick of Open victories for his connections as the ten year old pacer prevailed in the $14,500 feature on Saturday night at Saratoga Casino Hotel. Trainer Jose Godinez and driver Bruce Aldrich Jr teamed up for a win in last weekend’s Open Trot with Crazycat (Crazed) and also secured a victory on Friday night with their Betabcool N (Bettor’s Delight) in the local Fillies and Mares Open. On Saturday, Texas Terror N was bet down to odds of 1-2 as he looked to record his first victory of the year in the Saratoga Open Pace in just two tries. In Texas Terror N’s lone start in the feature heading into Saturday, the classy pacer had to settle for a second place finish as he was the runner-up to fellow Open veteran JK Panache in a 1:53.1 mile on a chilly March evening. On Saturday, which was another cold night in the Spa City, Aldrich moved the favored Texas Terror N out to the lead in a brisk first quarter of 27.2. From there, the classy pacer put up 28.3 quarters for the remainder of the mile before stopping the timer in 1:53.1 as a wrapped-up winner. Texas Terror N flipped the script on JK Panache, who this week was the runner-up while invader Doctor Butch (Frank Coppola Jr) earned the show spot. Texas Terror N’s connections will look for their fourth consecutive victory in a Saratoga Open on Sunday after when Crazycat tries to overcome his outside post in the featured Open Trot.
Live racing takes place on Sunday afternoon with a 12:15pm first post.
Mike Sardella
Photo: Melissa Simser-Iovino
