Saratoga Raceway's 2023 Horse of the Year recorded her first win of the 2024 season on Tuesday afternoon, Feb. 20.
Jordan Derue owns, trains and drives pacing mare Always Watching, who was a total force last year winning 10 times, nine of which came in the local Fillies and Mares Open Handicap.
Always Watching drew poorly for her first two starts back in ’24 and didn’t prove to be a factor in either of the tries, but on Tuesday, Derue’s stable star drew post three for her start in the $20,270 feature and took the early lead. The six-year-old Ontario-bred distaffer by Hes Watching cruised through first half fractions of :27.4 and :57.2 while bracing for race favourite Probert (Brett Beckwith). Probert owned a first and second-place finish in her two local starts in the Open this year, but came up a bit short of tracking down Always Watching and recording another top class score. Always Watching held on to prevail in 1:54.3 to register her first win of the year.
Paying $8.30 to win as the second choice in the wagering, Always Watching led an exacta with Probert second that returned $28.80 while Alittlesidehustl N (Billy Dobson) completed a $252 triple.
The 27-time career winner now boast $286,676 in lifetime earnings.
Live harness racing resumes on Saturday evening at Saratoga with a first post time set for 5 p.m.
(With files from Saratoga Casino Hotel)