by Mike Sardella, for Saratoga Casino Hotel

Saratoga, NY — Carolina Beach (Somebeachsomewhere) made his debut in the Open Pace a winning one on Saturday night (March 24) at Saratoga Casino Hotel.

Melissa Simser-Iovino photo

Carolina Beach wins the feature at Saratoga on Saturday night.

The Melissa Beckwith-trainee was lightly raced in his first couple of seasons but showed his propensity for winning last season when he prevailed in four of eight starts.

After going two-for-four, including a career-best 1:53 win from post eight earlier in the month, Carolina Beach made his debut in the $12,000 local Open on Saturday night and was assigned the rail.

Mark Beckwith got the 4-year-old pacer a pocket trip behind longshot leader Some Attitude (Frank Coppola Jr.) and Carolina Beach surged at the wire to record the victory by the slimmest of margins, stopping the timer in 1:53.1.

Some Attitude, the 21-1 longest shot on the board, came up second best while In The Huddle (Jordan Derue) earned the show spot.

Carolina Beach paid $10.00 to win and led an exacta and triple that came back $113.50 and $686, respectively.

Live racing continues on Sunday afternoon with a matinee starting at 12:15 p.m.