Sunday (Feb. 16) marked the start of the 2020 racing season at Saratoga Casino Hotel. The track’s 10-race program was highlighted by a $15,000 Open Trot.

The Open featured a field of just five participants, one of which was the track’s defending Horse of the Year, Cash Me Out. The millionaire trotter was assigned Post 5 for his first start of the season and wound up making a break after having suffered broken equipment.

Invader Shorething Fashion, by Andover Hall, had drawn the rail for the season’s first feature, and though the Mike Eaton trainee got away third in the early going, the six-year-old came storming home in the stretch to record the win in 1:58.1 during what was a pleasant February afternoon in the ‘Spa City.’

Shorething Fashion, pictured victorious at Saratoga Casino Hotel on February 16, 2020.

Mister Muscle (who was driven by Mark Beckwith) carved out reasonable fractions on the lead in the Open, but wound up having to settle for second-best, while Mr Cool Seaeyre N (Larry Stalbaum) finished third.

Shorething Fashion’s driver, Jay Randall, piloted a pair of winners on opening day, as he sat behind Certify, who was the winner of the first race of Saratoga’s 2020 racing season.

In the Open, Shorething Fashion paid $8.60 to win and led an exacta with Mister Muscle that returned $31.20.

Live racing will continue on Monday with a President’s Day matinee that is set to kick off at 12 noon. The afternoon will feature several $1 food and beverage specials, as well as a $5,000 guarantee in the Pick Five pool. The Pick Five begins in the matinee’s first race.

(Saratoga Casino Hotel)