Barn Star completed a sweep of the Holiday Trot Series on Wednesday afternoon (Dec. 11) at Saratoga Casino Hotel, parlaying a pocket trip to victory in the $20,000 final, his third win in a row.

CC Bank (Jimmy Devaux) cut the mile and cruised through a :58.2 first half as Barn Star and trainer-driver Phil Fluet lurked in the pocket. In the stretch, Barn Star closed quickly up the inside and powered past CC Bank to stop the timer in 1:59.3. Longshot Duluth (Frank Coppola Jr.) rallied late to be second while CC Bank earned the show spot.

Barn Star, a four-year-old son of Conway Hall who is owned by the Tommy N Dakota and Phil Fluet Stables, paid just $3.20 to win but led an exacta and triple that returned $33.60 and $118 respectively. Leading up to the final, he scored in 1:58.2 in each of the two preliminary legs of the series.

The $10,000 consolation of the Holiday Trot went to Kari-Sue Finn’s Grandpa Erv, who pulled off a mild 9-2 upset with Billy Dobson in the sulky.

Live racing continues on Thursday afternoon (Dec. 12), with first post time set for 12 noon.

(Saratoga Casino Hotel)