Control Tower takes off in $33,100 Final

Harness racing pacer Control Tower (Panspacficflight) put the finishing touches on a terrific Step Up To The Plate Claiming Series on Saturday night (April 8) at Saratoga Casino Hotel.

Jared Bako claimed the veteran pacer out of the first leg of the series and saw the eleven-year-old score victories in leg two and three heading into his try in the $33,100 Saturday Final.

Leading driver Jimmy Devaux sat behind Control Tower in his pair of wins leading up to the Final in which he drew post seven in the eight-horse field. Devaux again blasted Control Tower off the gate and surged him up into the early lead, a lead he would never relinquish.

The Bako trainee went coast-to-coast in 1:56 to conclude a massively successful series for the claiming pacer. Longshot Fatheroftheyear (Shawn Gray), the only participant of the Final to not have recorded a win in the three-leg series, closed well to finish second on Saturday while Nerve Of Steel N (Phil Fluet) earned the show spot.

CONTROL TOWER REPLAY

Control Tower moved over the half million-dollar mark in lifetime earnings with the win. He was the race’s 9-5 betting favorite and led an exacta and triple that paid $34.40 and $99, respectively.

Live racing resumes on Monday afternoon with a matinee that begins at noon.

For complete race results, click here.

by Mike Sardella, for Saratoga Raceway