There were two divisions of the second leg of the Virginia O’Brien Memorial Pacing Series contested on Tuesday afternoon (May 9) at Saratoga Casino Hotel and both legs saw their winners put in career-best efforts.
Red Dirt Hot Shot lowered her lifetime mark by three seconds while pulling off a mild upset in her $15,000 division of the series for fillies and mares. Leading driver Jimmy Devaux powered Red Dirt Hot Shot up to the outside of heavy favourite Dance Ticket. Leg one winner Dance Ticket fought gamely but was passed in the final strides by Red Dirt Hot Shot, who stopped the timer in 1:54.3.
Red Dirt Hot Shot, a leg one runner-up, paid $8 to win in the second leg while punching her ticket to the series final. The four-year-old mare is owned by Stephen Picarazzi, Darreyl Bullard and her trainer Brett Derue.
Stay Jelly went coast-to-coast in the other division of leg two on Tuesday. Brett Beckwith drove the three-year-old filly for trainer Michelle Crawford and took advantage of the inside post position to cut the mile. The sophomore filly, who was a second-place finisher in the series’ first leg, wired the field in a lifetime best 1:57 on Tuesday beating rivals Vibrance and Celia B Money, who finished second and third, respectively.
Stay Jelly is owned by Dragon Tales Farm of Burnt Hills, N.Y.
Beckwith piloted three winners on the Tuesday card.
Live racing resumes on Saturday evening at Saratoga with a first post time of 5 p.m.
(Saratoga Casino Hotel)