Colby Jate and driver Aaron Byron scored the victory in the $10,000 featured pace on Saturday night at Vernon Downs.

Colby Jate did not have an easy time getting to the front as there was a four-way fight for the early lead. Only No Monkeys Allowed (Fern Paquet Jr.) did not try to get to the front in the field of five. However, once Colby Jate got to the front, matters were pretty much resolved. He proceeded to lead all the way around the racetrack. The fractions were fairly fast, as well, as Colby Jate went the quarter in :25.4 seconds, the half in :54.2, and three-quarters in 1:22.3. JK Panache (Chris Lems) tracked the leader from the pocket, but was never able to get closer than a length away in the stretch. The final time for the mile was 1:50.4.

Colby Jate (Jate Lobell-Cam Press Shania) is owned by Friendship Stables LLC of Mountain Lakes, New Jersey. The trainer is Mike Watson.

The complete order of finish was: Colby Jate, JK Panache, Avantage, No Monkeys Allowed, and Moonlight Ransom.

The CKG Billings Series for amateur drivers returned to Vernon Downs on Saturday night as well. It was a similar story to the feature as the winner went to the front right away and stayed there all the way. However, Armstead Kyra (Muscle Mass-Paus Awhile) was far from the favourite in the field, going off at 43-1 and paying $89 to win. Even with the favourite Choke Hold (Vladimir Melnichenko) finishing second, the exacta paid a whopping $882.

Armstead Kyra was driven to victory by Matt Zuccarello in a final time of 1:56.1. The fractions were :27.3 for the quarter, :58.1 for the half, and 1:26.3 for three-quarters.

Armstead Kyra is owned by Brenda Messenger of Monticello, New York and Scott Woogen of Mechanicsville, Pennsylvania. The trainer is Gary Messenger.

(Vernon Downs)