Hightstown, NJ – After setting career highs for wins and purses in 2025 in his first year based at Saratoga Casino Hotel – and earning a couple of awards in the process – Jacob Cutting is gearing up for the start of a new campaign at the upstate New York track, which begins its 85th season on Sunday (Feb. 1).
Cutting, who will turn 25 on Feb. 11, won a total of 152 races and $1.55 million in purses as a driver last year while competing predominantly at Saratoga. All but 10 of his victories came at the half-mile oval and he finished fourth in the standings there – behind Jim Devaux, Brett Beckwith and Wally Hennessey.
In addition, Cutting’s small training operation notched 31 wins and earned $256,421 in purses. All of his training triumphs came at Saratoga, where he had a 16.7-percent win rate and finished 14th in the standings.
At the end of the season, Cutting received two Saratoga Casino Hotel/Saratoga Harness Horseperson’s Association honors – the Johnny Page Driver Breakthrough Award and the Peerless McGrath Trainer Breakthrough Award.
“That was really cool,” Cutting said. “It was a really good year. I’m good friends with Brett Beckwith, and he suggested that we should try it out here. We just kind of took a leap and it worked out. I’m very grateful to everyone who gave me an opportunity.”
Cutting started his career in Western Canada (he is a Calgary, Alberta native) before enjoying success at Cal Expo, where he won a driving title, and Running Aces in Minnesota. He also spent time racing on the East Coast over the years but by last year he and his wife, Kendra, were ready to find a more permanent location to call home.
“We were kind of getting tired of moving around,” Cutting said. “We were looking for a spot to settle down and be able to race almost year-round, and the way Saratoga’s calendar is set up, it works out good. You can race pretty much year-round (February to mid-December) and then you’ve got a six-week break where you can either shut down the horses or ship somewhere else to race. You have options. That was what was most intriguing to us.”
Having his own stable, which fluctuated between five and eight horses last year, helped Cutting get established at Saratoga as he got to know the horsepeople at the track, and they got to know him.
“You have to try to break in, and that’s why having some of my own helps a lot,” Cutting said. “It gets your name out there a little bit and people can see you drive a little bit. A lot of the trainers didn’t know me, so it was taking one step at a time and getting to know them and learning the horses. That’s pretty crucial.
“There is so much to learn, with every horse you sit behind. You’ve got to be learning, otherwise you’ll be lapped.”
Working with his own horses can prove beneficial, even when he is driving horses for other trainers.
“As I learn with my own, it can help me with horses that I’m catch-driving for other people,” Cutting said. “I might have an idea or two more than I would otherwise.”
Cutting, though, has no plans to expand his training operation much beyond its current numbers. He entered this year with eight horses.
“I don’t want to be shorting my horses, or my catch-drives,” he said. “I like to put time into both, so I try not to overbook myself.”
Cutting enjoyed a steady workload as a driver at Saratoga as the season progressed. And he finished the meet strong, with an 18-percent win rate over the final six weeks, including a nearly 26-percent victory clip in December (15 wins in 58 starts).
“It definitely picked up speed as the year went on,” Cutting said. “The biggest thing was adapting to the half-mile racing there. It was a quicker pace than out west. You’ve got to be in the race. Obviously, you can win from anywhere depending on how a race unfolds, but I find that in more cases you have to be up in the early action.
“I try to be pretty universal (in terms of driving style). I was a more passive driver starting out; I figured I could always learn to be more aggressive. I think I’ve been more aggressive racing on the half-mile track than I had been before. I’ve definitely learned a lot.”
Cutting has spent January driving at the Meadowlands while awaiting the reopening of Saratoga. He drove in three qualifiers at the Spa on Wednesday (Jan. 28) and is ready for the new season to begin.
“I’ve been driving a little bit at the Meadowlands, but I’m pretty anxious to get back to driving regularly at Saratoga,” he said. “I’ve been in the bike, but it’s nice to be back in the bike at Saratoga.”
A place that now feels like home.
For more information about racing at Saratoga Casino Hotel, click here.