Havefaithinme N scored in the first Open Pace of the year on Monday afternoon (Feb. 18) at Saratoga Casino Hotel.
The Jose Godinez trainee brought his over $1 million in career earnings into the $12,000 feature. The fractions in the race were slow over a track labeled good, and Havefaithinme N had his work cut out for him to come from off the pace. The eight-year-old son of Bettors Delight toughed it out, though, and wore leader Khun Ratha A (Larry Stalbaum) down before stopping the timer in 1:56.2 en route to his second win in as many starts in 2019. Khun Ratha A was a strong second, while Maxdaddy Blue Chip (Billy Dobson) earned the show spot.
Havefaithinme N completed a Monday hat trick for driver Bruce Aldrich Jr., who got his season off to a strong start behind the three-win afternoon. The race’s favourite at odds of 2-1, Havefaithinme N paid $6.20 to win and led an exacta and triple that came back $22.60 and $96, respectively.
Live racing resumes on Wednesday afternoon (Feb. 20) for the first of what will be regular Wednesday matinees on the schedule this year at Saratoga. There is a Pick-5 guarantee of $5,000 on Wednesdays and Thursdays throughout February and March. The Pick-5 now begins in race one on the card. Also, race five will feature a $25,000 guaranteed trifecta pool on Wednesdays and Thursdays. First post time for the matinee cards is set for 12 p.m.
(Saratoga Casino Hotel)