Big Box Hanover has been the early season’s force at Saratoga Casino Hotel and on Sunday afternoon (March 26), the top caliber trotter was at it again.
This week, young reinsman Matt Athearn again took Big Box Hanover back to last in the early going but didn’t waste much time in getting the razor-sharp trotter underway. Flushing the cover of weekly rival Dewey Arnold approaching the half, Big Box Hanover wound up fanning three-wide heading to three-quarters before taking over the lead in mid-stretch. The 6-5 betting favourite went last to first for the third time in four starts to secure his fifth win of the 2023 campaign and fourth in the local Open Trot. Reign Of Honor closed well to finish second while Dewey Arnold earned the show spot.
Larry Stalbaum owns and trains Big Box Hanover, who was a nominee for Trotter of the Year at Saratoga last season and is well on pace to have an even bigger campaign in 2023. Coming into Sunday’s start in the $17,000 Open Trot, Big Box Hanover already owned three victories in the local feature this year despite being assigned an outside post almost weekly. In fact, the six-year-old went last to first in back-to-back starts earlier this month to record victories before finishing third in last Sunday’s (March 19) installment of the Open.
The exacta and triple in the feature paid $27.60 and $74.50, respectively.
Athearn piloted three winners on the Sunday card in what has been a breakout first two months of the season at the Spa for the 24-year-old.
Late in the card -- in the last race in fact -- driver Brian Cross reached a career milestone. The Saratoga Springs resident passed $20 million in earnings as a driver with a victory by Beyond The Hill in a $11,700 conditioned trot, landing the reinsman at $20,001,995.
Cross has driven horses, according to record, since 1981 and has been a mainstay along the New York circuits since the '80s. His career-best season came in 2006 when he steered 246 winners and earned $1.6 million in purses.
Live racing continues on Monday afternoon (March 27) with a matinee beginning at 12 p.m. (EDT).
(Saratoga Casino Hotel)