
Saratoga Springs, NY — Trainer Jaymes McAssey finished second in the trainer standings in 2024 at Saratoga Casino Hotel.
The standout conditioner didn’t waste any time getting his ’25 campaign off to a good start as he recorded a training double on the opening day card. McAssey’s The Good Doctor (American Ideal) teamed up with last year’s leading driver Brett Beckwith in the 5-year-old pacer’s first Open try.
The Good Doctor came in off a qualifier on January 29th so he did have a bit of a “trial run” before making his first seasonal start. The McAssey trainee was bet down as one of the 8-5 co-favorites in the $15,000 Open Pace and got away fifth despite drawing post two for his return outing. Beckwith sat patiently in lap one before cutting The Good Doctor loose and picking up the cover of co-favorite Just Plain Loco (Greg Merton) approaching the three-quarter pole.
The move around the final turn was enough to cement things for The Good Doctor who paced away to win by a decisive three and a half lengths in a mile clocked in 1:54.2 on a 14-degree day in Saratoga. Veteran Just Plain Loco was a strong second in the feature while 12-1 shot General Montana N (Mitch Cushing) earned the show spot.
The Good Doctor, who is owned by Morrison Racing Stables, paid $5.20 to win. McAssey went back-to-back on the card when his Kassius Key (Shawn Gray) scored on the lead in an $8,000 pacing event on the Sunday program.
Live racing continues on Monday at Saratoga with a matinee set to begin at Noon.