Saratoga Springs, NY — Shawn Gray sat behind an Open winner at Saratoga Casino Hotel for the second consecutive night when he piloted the Gary Levine-trained Hestherightstuff to a score in Saturday’s (Aug. 3) $15,000 Open Pace.
Gray got away third with Hestherightstuff before brushing to the front at the end of a :56.1 first half. From there, the 7-year-old never had an anxious moment before drawing away to win by 2-1/2 lengths in 1:52. Talking Tom (Chris Long), who was the pacesetter in the race before being cleared by Hestherightstuff, held strongly for second while the favored Ahi Sunshine (Wally Hennessey) closed to finish third.
Levine both owns and trains Hestherightstuff, who recorded his third victory in 10 seasonal starts. He paid $10.20 to win.
Live racing resumes on Thursday evening (Aug. 8) with a first post time set for 5 p.m.