Saratoga Gaming and Raceway
The Joe Gerrity, Jr. Memorial Pacing Series got underway on Saturday at Saratoga Gaming and Raceway and while Billy Dobson drove two of the evening’s series winners, it was Wally Hennessey’s winner who was the fastest of the first leg series victors. Jim’s Guy made his local debut a winning one behind a powerful 1:52.2 score for Hennessey who piloted four winners on the card. Dobson pointed Kelly’s Noah and Handsome Harry to the front end early and neither one would look back as they prevailed in leg one of the $25,000 per division pacing series. Kelly’s Noah held off Daley Deposit Only (Dan Daley) in 1:53 while Handsome Harry dug in for a 1:53.3 score on the engine. Leg two of the series will take place next Saturday night at the Spa.

Tioga Downs
Baseball Express and Howard Parker captured Saturday night’s $15,000 Open Handicap Trot at Tioga Downs. The duo left out of the gate as usual from post position five and never relinquished the lead through fractions of :27.3, :57 and 1:25.4 before coasting home a winner, 1-3/4 lengths ahead of SF Aceinthehole (Phil Fluet) in 1:55.3. It was the seventh win in 22 starts for Baseball Express from the Michael Deters Stable, who trains for owner Kevin Burch. Despite being beaten by Andover America in his last two outings, Baseball Express was sent off as the even money favorite and returned $4.00 to win. Howard Parker posted a driving triple on the night’s 10-race card, while Andy Santeramo drove home two winners.

Vernon Downs
Sundowner Bob secured a training double for owner Scott West and a triple for leading driver Josh Marks with a 1:56.1 triumph in Saturday night’s $11,000 featured seventh race at Vernon Downs. Leaving from the outside nine post in the week’s top Miracle Mile trotting contest, Sundowner Bob challenged for the lead from the start, took charge in Vernon’s clubhouse curve and then cruised to a three-quarter length decision over Unshakeable. As second choice in the betting, he paid $5.70 to win. It was the second season’s score (second in his last three starts) and 30th all-time for the 8-year-old son of Muscles Yankee-Pine Potion, who increased his lifetime earnings to more than $389,800. West also owns and conditions the trotter Cool Touch, who produced a 1:56.3 victory for Marks in Saturday’s fifth race. Marks also won with the trotting newcomer Current Ca Ching, conditioned by Paul Kulls, Jr. for owner Gil Chip Lawyer, en route to his ninth hat trick at the 44-program meet.

Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs
Lightning Elvis, driven by North America’s dash leading driver George Napolitano, Jr., won the featured Saturday night race at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. The 4-year-old McArdle gelding stopped the timer in 1:51. Lou Pena trains the winner. Rader Detector (Larry Stalbaum) finished second with third-place going to The Perfect Escape (Matt Kakaley). Napolitano won four straight races on Saturday with Lightning Elvis, Berto Keven, Muscles To Spare and It’s Ideal Hanover. He later added a fifth winner with Cameron Chip. The featured trot of the night went to Muscles To Spare, trained by Sarita Mosher. Muscles To Spare was winning his fourth straight at the Northeastern Pennsylvania racetrack. His winning time was 1:54.3. Second in this race was Camelot Kosmos (Matt Kakaley) while Bengali (Andrew McCarthy) finished third. Starting Monday night (August 2) until the end of the season, Pocono is lowering its takeout from 35 percent to 25 percent on trifecta and superfecta wagers.

Batavia Downs
2009 Batavia Downs Casino Horse of the Year Arm And A Leg started the 2010 campaign where he left off last season, back in the winner’s circle, when he won the featured $9,000 Preferred Pace on Saturday night. Put right on the lead by regular driver Kevin Cummings, Arm And A Leg made every pole a winning one but first had to withstand a serious challenge in deep stretch from the pocket sitter, Low And Right (Ray Fisher, Jr.), en route to a neck score in 1:55.4. Scotts Rolls Royce (Troy Boring) rode the rail to be third. The victory was the 42nd of Arm And A Leg’s career and raised his lifetime earnings to more than $267,000. He’s a 7-year-old altered son of Nobleland Sam. Stacy Keene does the training for Mark Zakubik.

Northfield Park
Bob Schlabach’s Muscle Sprouts ($4.00) cruised to a comfortable victory in Northfield’s $5,500 Open Handicap Trot on Saturday night. A crafty drive by Robin Miller secured the win for the 10-year-old Muscles Yankee gelding who missed all of 2008 and 2009. Miller put Muscle Sprouts on the lead and walked (or trotted slowly) to a 1:00.2 opening lap, allowing him to hold off the late bids of Giulio and Master Buckin Uhl. Miller switched gears for the second half of the race, urging the winner home with a :58.1 back half. Muscles Sprouts won for the fourth time in 12 seasonal starts and has now won 26 of 109 lifetime, for a career bankroll of $208,265.