by John Manzi, for Billings Series
Saratoga, NY — The CKG Billings Amateur Driving Series, harness racing’s traveling roadshow, was on the move again on Saturday (Aug. 20) stopping at Saratoga Raceway for two divisions on the betting card. When the dust had settled Bob” the Headhunter” Hechkoff and “Yankee Joe” Lee each emerged victorious in their respective splits. Hechkoff won with Through The Night in 1:59.4 while Lee was triumphant with Hidden Identity in a 1:58.3 clocking.
In his division Hechkoff settled Through The Night in the two-hole when the gate sprung and allowed Swift Blizzard and Tony “the Capo” Verruso to take command and lead the field by the first stanza in a swift :28.3. Verruso and Hechkoff were one-two past the half-mile and remained that way as the buzzed by the third stanza.
At that point “Hurricane Hannah” Miller took a shot at the leaders with Shanghai Jack as they headed into the final turn but he flattened out as Through The Night overtook Swift Blizzard. But as they headed for home “Bullet Bob” Davis had Shelikescandy in high gear and they were closing in on the leaders with a rush, but for Davis the wire came up too soon as Hechkoff’s trotter won the contest, albeit by a nose over Davis’ charge. Swift Blizzard held on for third money.
Through The Night, owned and trained by Kathleen Allen paid $17.60 and sparked an $86.00 exacta. It was the ninth seasonal victory for Bob Hechkoff and 86th of his amateur driving career.
In the second Billings contest Hannah Miller took early command with Winwood Scout and then gave up the lead to Joe Lee and Hidden Identity in a soft :29.3 first quarter. Lee hen kept the pedal to the metal and Hidden Identity remained undaunted on the front-end and trotted the final half in :58.1 en route to a 1-1/4 length over Winwood Scout. I’m Fabulous, with Scott “the Driving Doctor” Woogen was third best.
The winner, owned and trained by Tom Milici went off as the odds-on favorite and returned a $3.50 mutuel. For Joe Lee, the locker room manager for the New York Yankees, it marked his sixth driving victory of the season and 16th of his fledgling career.