from Saratoga Raceway

Saratoga, NY — As the first real snowstorm of the year hit upstate New York on Friday night (Feb. 2), action returned to the Saratoga half-mile oval.

First post time was set for 7:00 p.m., but due to the mounting snow, the opener got pushed back about 20 minutes as the snow accumulated for essentially the first time all winter. The snowstorm didn’t slow the action on the track nor was it the only surprise of opening weekend.

It didn’t take long for a longshot to pop up into the winner’s circle as the 65-1 Classical Original sprung the upset for driver Rick Pugliese. Pugliese started out the season the right way. Not only did he post the shocker with Classical Original, but by the time the night was over Pugliese had piloted a total of four winners on the opening night card.

A longtime Saratoga regular, the 48 year old Pugliese has become the regular driver for owner Richard Hallahan and now for trainer Ed Clement. Three of Pugliese’s scores came from Hallahan-owned trotters as No Credit Bob, Credit Lady and Classical Original all prevailed. The gray and black of Pugliese also showed up in the winner’s circle after Cutty outclosed the race 12 field for trainer Clement.

Following the first half of the Friday night card, there was more track maintenance necessary. After another slight delay, the double feature took center stage. A pair of $17,000 co-featured races for opening night highlighted a race card with over $100,000 in purse money.

The Fillies and Mares Open was won by a bit of a sleeper. Barkney Spears sat the pocket behind the heavily favored Bali Mystic N and tracked her down in the stretch to score for Brian Cross. It was the first win in the ladies feature in a handful of tries for Barkney Spears, but the ’07 season was off to a good start for her.

Next up was the Open Trot. The regular Friday night feature saw a mixed bag of locals and some out-of-towners here to compete for the $17,000 prize. With public backing of 3-5, Kiwi Demand N went right to the front and withstood moderate late pressure to get the job done.

The New Zealand invader was making only his fifth start in the U.S. and second locally. After making a break in his Saratoga debut back in December, trainer/driver Ron Cushing brought the high stepper to Freehold and Yonkers for a total of three starts, two of which resulted in victories.

The wire-to-wire win for Kiwi Demand N in Friday’s Open Trot set a lifetime mark despite being contested over a track listed as “good.” A 1:58.2 victory make it evident that Kiwi Demand N was going to be a force in the trotting feature all year long.

Armbro Barrister was second and last year’s Saratoga Aged Trotter of the Year Mysterious Caller had a nice showing for third while closing in :28.4.

The Open Trot win on Friday wasn’t the only big victory for Ron Cushing on opening weekend as his stable star Our First Falcon N was set to be the favorite on Saturday night. It looked like he would have to earn it as most handicappers agreed that Our First Falcon N was going to have to go last to first in order to get the job done.

Last to first it was, a first-over win in which the public choice was overland for about three-quarters of the mile. The 1:56.2 win was made even more impressive on Saturday night as again winter reared its ugly head and the weather was getting colder by the race. It was a monster mile from Our First Falcon N and Cushing and they rewarded the many public supporters who backed him to the tune of 4-5. Whelan Mike was second and Alloveramerica was third.

Led by the sweep of the Open Trot and Pace, Ron Cushing is atop the leaderboards in both the training and driving categories. With four driving wins apiece, Cushing and Pugliese are tied for the lead and Cushing is tied with Ed Clement amongst trainers.

Last year’s leading driver Dan Cappello, Jr. was heard from as well this weekend, posting three victories, all on Saturday night’s program, while last year’s leading conditioner John Stark, Jr. had one training win in just two starts this weekend.

One thing is for sure, Saratoga Raceway is back in full swing in a year where purses will be at their highest in history and the quality of competition is rising right with the higher purses.

This week’s harness handicapping hint talks about the importance of having a start under your belt. The only thing tougher than winning a race is doing so after not racing in a couple of months time.

22 of the 26 winners on opening weekend had either been racing during the wintertime out of town or at least had a qualifier under their belts before their first race back.

It is ultra tough to stay race tight enough to win your first start back after not competing since December, or in some cases even November. When handicapping for the next couple of weeks, make sure you acknowledge whether or not the horse you’re about to back has had a start or two since the track closing in mid-December.

Oftentimes, horses need the breaks that they took during the winter but from a handicapping standpoint, you want to pay extra close attention to who has been racing.

On Saturday night, 12 of the 13 winners had either a start or a qualifier since December’s closing. This will be an important ingredient in finding the winners in the next couple of weeks.

Live harness racing is back at Saratoga Raceway with Friday and Saturday night post times at 7:00 p.m. Also, there will be a matinee for three straight weeks coming up. February 11 and 25 are Sundays with 12:45 p.m. post times and there is also a Presidents’ Day matinee on February 19 that also kicks off at 12:45 p.m.