by Mike Sardella, for Saratoga Casino and Raceway
Saratoga Springs, NY — For the second consecutive night, four New York Sire Stake Late Closers served as co-features at Saratoga Casino and Raceway. On yet another beautiful summer night in the Spa City, 3-year-old colt and gelding trotters battled it out for purses of more than $12,000 per division.
Ray Schnittker’s House On Fire (Conway Hall) was Wednesday evening’s fastest winner in Late Closer action. Schnittker drew off in the second half of the mile before stopping the timer in 1:58.3. While backed to the tune of 2-1 by the betting public, House On Fire beat the race’s favorite, a trend that would hold true in all four divisions of Wednesday’s stakes competition.
Small Bills (Cash Hall) moved his local record to two-for-two with the Late Closer win as Stephane Bouchard put the David Jannone trained sophomore on the lead at the start and they wouldn’t look back. For Small Bills, who matched his lifetime mark with the 2:00.4 win, it was the third Late Closer victory in his last four tries.
Mystical Mikel (Conway Hall) came from a long way back before outtrotting his rivals in the stretch for a 2:00 score on Wednesday night. Lewayne Miller did the piloting for trainer Kim Burris as the 3-year-old pulled off the mild upset at odds of 9-2.
The biggest price in the stakes races came from John Stark, Jr.’s Cash Poor (Cash Hall). After the favorite broke at the start, Cash Poor went right out to the lead. He then had to deal with constant pressure from Ride The Wind-Chrys before that one made a break turning for home, allowing Cash Poor to secure the open length victory in 2:00.4, scoring at odds of 8-1.
Live racing resumes on Thursday evening (August 18) with a first post time of 7:20 p.m.