Ulster (Glidemaster) has been the king of the Open Trot at Saratoga Casino Hotel this year. The Amanda Facin trainee established himself late last season as an Open threat and it was apparent early on in the 2018 campaign that he would be a force among the track’s top trotters this year. Ulster won the first Open Trot of the season at the Spa back in February and recorded three wins in the track’s first four features for high-steppers this year. Though his last win in the Open came back in April, the veteran trotter had five Open wins to his credit in ’18 when he went off as the odds-on betting favorite on Tuesday. Jay Randall is the regular pilot for Ulster and on Tuesday, the veteran reinsman powered the favorite out to the early lead in the $14,500 feature. The seven year old trotting star cruised through first half fractions of 28.1 and 57.4 before clicking off three quarters in 1:26.1. Under just mild Randall urging, Ulster drew away to win by three lengths in 1:55.1 for his sixth Open score of the season. Yonkers invader Madman Hall (Ray Schnittker) overcame a tough first-over journey to be second while Crazycat (Bruce Aldrich Jr) earned the show spot. With still a ton of racing left to be done in the 2018 campaign at the Spa, not only is Ulster the front-runner for Trotter of the Year but may well be a contender for Horse of the Year.
Live racing continues on Wednesday night with a first post time of 7:05pm.
Mike Sardella
Photo: Melissa Simser-Iovino
