Saratoga Springs, NY — Pickup Man Hanover (Huntsville) was a nominee for Pacer of the Year last season at Saratoga Casino Hotel. The former New York Sire Stakes star turned into an Open Pacer in 2023 and enjoyed a terrific campaign. The Jaymes McAssey trainee won a pair of Opens in ’23 and returned in 2024 with a second-place finish in the season’s first feature on February 3rd.

Pickup man scored impressively in the feature at Saratoga Casino. Jessica Hallett photo.

Following a runner-up try in a conditional race last weekend (Feb 10), Pickup Man Hanover returned to the $15,000 Open on Saturday (Feb. 17) night where he drew post three in the eight-horse feature. Shawn Gray piloted the McAssey trainee and moved him aggressively to the front-end. First half fractions in the cold of :26.4 and :56.2 seemed to work against Pickup Man Hanover who proved none the worse for the wear as he dug in when confronted by a first-over challenge from the race’s favorite.

Longshot Sounds Good (Jimmy Devaux) gobbled up ground up the pylon path while pocket-sitting Torrid Saint A (Matt Athearn) took his shot at the leader in the stretch but to no avail. Pickup Man Hanover stopped the timer in 1:54 to record his first win of the season and third in the Open in his young career. Sounds Good finished second while Torrid Saint A earned the show spot. Pickup Man Hanover paid $12 to win and led an exacta and triple that returned $97.50 and $1026, respectively. The Open winner is owned by Dennis and Simone Noud of Saratoga Springs, NY.

Live racing continues on Sunday (Feb. 18) afternoon with a matinee that begins at Noon.