Twisted Pretzel has been one of the top trotters at Saratoga Casino Hotel this season and on Sunday afternoon (July 2) won for the seventh time in 2017.
The Scott Mongeon trainee has been a force in the Open Trot this season and on Sunday moved into the $15,000 Winners Over. Jimmy Devaux has been the regular driver for Twisted Pretzel, who assumed the early lead in the feature. Forced to park out a rival from the start, the race’s 8-5 betting favourite clicked off first half fractions of :27.3 and :56.1. The seven-year-old son of Crazed had plenty left in the tank for the stretch drive as he turned away pocket-sitter On The Podium (Bruce Aldrich Jr.) en route to victory in 1:55.4. On The Podium was the runner-up while longshot Tropical Storm Bi (Frank Coppola Jr) came on for third.
It was win number seven in 17 seasonal tries for Twisted Pretzel, who completed a training double for Mongeon. The trotter is owned by Steven and Laura Stewart.
Live racing resumes on Tuesday afternoon with an Independence Day matinee set to begin at 12:15 p.m.
(With files from Saratoga Casino Hotel)