Veteran trotter digs in at Saratoga

Slugfest, the most consistent trotting force at Saratoga Casino and Raceway over the past few seasons, made his return to the harness racing winner's circle on Tuesday night.

The track's defending Trotter of the Year dominated the Open early on this season but over the past couple of months has had to settle for several seconds, a third and a few fourths.

In Tuesday's $18,000 Open, driver Jay Randall moved the Maureen Salino trainee to the early lead and once he got there, the veteran trotter dug in. Slugfest (Conway Hall) recorded his seventh victory of the season, stopping the timer in 1:54.3, a time that matched Daylon Miracle for the fastest of the year for any trotter at the Spa. Zoey De Vie (Wally Hennessey) sat the pocket to Slugfest and wound up finishing second while Can I Say (Jim Devaux) earned the show spot.

Slugfest returned $11.20 to win and led an exacta and triple that paid $51.50 and $255.50, respectively.

Live racing continues on Wednesday night at Saratoga with a 7:05pm first post.

Mike Sardella