A trio of series finals are slated for the upcoming weekend at Saratoga with all of the action kicking off Saturday, May 11 at the Saratoga Springs, New York oval.
The Saturday evening card hosts 13 races at the half-mile track with a first post at 5 p.m. Headlining as the main event is the $30,200 USD Doc Frank Memorial Pace final. The series for pacers, four years old and younger, honours the memory of longtime Saratoga veterinarian Dr. Richard A. Frank, who served the Upstate New York area for over 50 years. He was inducted in the Saratoga Harness Racing Hall of Fame and Museum in 2015.
Eight pacers go to the gate in the feature slated for race five. Current leading driver Brett Beckwith and leading trainer Mark Beckwith team up to send the morning line favourite, Youaremyrock, to the gate in post two. Owned by Rick Berks and Mark Beckwith, the four-year-old Boston Red Rocks-Ruffles Kiss gelding has swept the series preliminary legs while winning his last seven straight races, banking $48,432 from 11 starts this year.
Bruces Vo N Coke (Huntsville-Bettor Chill Out) is the second choice from post three. Owned by breeder Joseph Meaney and trained by John Berger, the gelding won all three of his splits of the series.
On Sunday, May 12, 14 races go postward at 12 p.m. and the main event is served up as the $31,400 USD John Mongeon Sr. Memorial Trot final in race five. A trainer and driver, Mongeon was a longtime horseman at the Saratoga Springs oval.
Trainer/driver Mcgwire Sowers and Pembroke Traveler will start from post three with 7-5 morning line odds. Owned by Autym Robinson, the four-year-old Pembroke Slugger-Pembroke Conifer gelding won all three preliminary legs of the Mongeon Memorial Series and now has six wins from 12 starts this year. He has banked $39,791 in 2024.
With 8-5 odds, Queen Indeed (E L Titan-Queen Of More), a winner of her last four races including her three preliminary leg divisions, is the lone mare in the field of eight. She has a total of five wins in 10 starts this year with $38,169 banked for trainer and owner Gary Levine.
Finally, on Monday, May 13, the $28,800 USD Virginia O'Brien Memorial Pace final headlines the 14-race card as race five. First post for the matinee card is at 12 p.m. Known as "The First Lady of Harness Racing," O'Brien worked for 20 years as the Director of the Saratoga Harness Hall of Fame, was the first woman named to the Communicators Corner of the U.S. Harness Hall of Fame, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame herself.
The top choice on the board with 8-5 morning line odds is Lady Saturn, a sophomore Huntsville-P Note Blue Chip daughter, trained by Michelle Crawford for owner/breeder Dragon Tales Farm Inc. She has gone four-for-four on the year with $26,026 pocketed. Brett Crawford takes the lines from post eight.
The second choice in the final is the Jaymes Mcassey-trained Mollys Game with 5-2 morning line odds. Owned by Delpozo Scwartz Paoleti L, the sophomore Bettors Delight-Case Dismissed filly has a record of 3-3-0 from nine starts this year with $29,918 earned. Billy Dobson gets the call for the drive from post two.
(Saratoga Casino Hotel; Photo of Lady Saturn winning at Saratoga)