Saratoga Springs, NY — Saturday night (April 27) featured two divisions of the second leg of the JP Morel Memorial Pacing Series at Saratoga Casino Hotel. Each division for five-year-olds and younger went for a purse of $10,000. Leading driver Billy Dobson and trainer Monica Krist teamed up with winners of both divisions, scoring open-length romps with their three-year-old geldings.

Mantario (Sportswriter) became the only repeat winner in the series as he scored a decisive victory in 1:55.1 on a chilly evening in the Spa City. Mantario’s 1:54.2 leg one win was by far the fastest of the series heading into next week’s final.

Energyzone Hanover rebounded Saturday with a victory in the second leg of the JP Morel Memorial Pacing Series. Melissa Simser-Iovino Photo.

Energyzone Hanover (American Ideal) was a beaten favorite in leg one of the Morel Memorial but had little difficulty recording a four-length win in a career-best 1:55 with Dobson in the sulky. Energyzone Hanover came into the series three-for-three in the win column in 2019 before suffering a rare defeat in leg one as rival Super Roll (Jimmy Devaux) got past him in the final strides to pull off the mild upset. Super Roll reversed roles in leg two as he ended up as the runner-up to Energyzone Hanover in leg two.

The final of the seventh annual JP Morel Memorial Pacing Series will take place next Saturday night (May 4^th) and is set to be contested for a purse of $32,000.

Live racing continues on Sunday afternoon at Saratoga with a first post time set for noon.