The Saturday (Nov. 3) edition of Racing Roundup features results stories from The Meadows, Saratoga Casino Hotel, Batavia Downs and The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono.

Phoenix Warrior N survives in Meadows feature

Washington, PA — Forced to a demanding :26.4 opening quarter, Phoenix Warrior N found enough late to survive two deep-stretch challenges and capture Saturday’s $20,000 Preferred Handicap Pace at The Meadows.

Phoenix Warrior N kept his nose in front of Anythingforlove A and scored in 1:50.4. Chris Gooden photo.

After dueling for the early lead with Anythingforlove A and Windsong Leo, Phoenix Warrior N had to deal with both those rivals in the lane. Windsong Leo attacked outside while Anythingforlove A shot the Lightning Lane, but Phoenix Warrior N kept his nose in front of Anythingforlove A and scored in 1:50.4 for Jim Pantaleano over a “good” surface. Windsong Leo was a close-up third.

Scott Betts trains Phoenix Warrior N, an 8-year-old Jereme’s Jet-Never Walk Alone gelding who won for the 13th time this year and lifted his career bankroll to $358,373, for Tim Betts, Nicholas Catalano and Stephen Moss.

Dave Palone collected five wins on the 13-race card, including three for trainer Ron Burke.

— Evan Pattak

Saratoga Casino Hotel
The $20,000 Open Pace was comprised of just five horses on Saturday night at Saratoga Casino Hotel following a pair of scratches. Amanda Kelley’s Mar Nien A (Rock N Roll Heaven) had been first or second in all of his local starts since coming to town in September and on Saturday night was the public’s 3-5 betting favorite in the feature. Jay Randall, who has become the regular reinsman for Mar Nien A, wasted no time moving the favorite out to the lead in the Open and once he got there, Mar Nien A never faced an anxious moment. The Australian invader cruised to a 1:52.3 victory on Saturday, his second score in the Open since coming to town and his fourth win in six starts since the move to the Kelley stable. JK Panache (Shawn Gray) continues to be a force in the feature and was the runner-up to the big favorite on Saturday while longshot Itsonlyrocknroll A (Larry Stalbaum) earned the show spot. The exacta paid $9.00 and with the field condensed to just five participants, there was no triple wagering. Though Mar Nien A is too late of an addition to the Spa to be considered for any of the end of the season awards, the 6-year-old certainly looks like he will be a force to be reckoned with on Saturday nights for quite some time. Live racing continues on Sunday afternoon with a first post time of 12:15 p.m.

Batavia Downs
After some early maneuvering, Lucky McTrucky got a perfect trip en route to winning the $10,500 Open Handicap pacing feature at Batavia Downs on Saturday night. Cool Like Fire (Billy Davis Jr.) took the early lead but soon yielded it to Lucky McTrucky (Drew Monti) past the eighth pole. Then just before the quarter, Davis pulled Cool Like Fire and retook the lead once again. From there positions remained unchanged for the next half-mile. After passing the three-quarters in 1:27, Cool Like Fire was in a very good spot and looked fresh legged on the point. But Monti, who had gotten the perfect trip, pulled Lucky McTrucky coming out of the final turn and pushed him hard towards the stretch drive. As they headed down the lane the horses were stride for stride in a good match race with Lucky McTrucky getting the advantage before the wire and winning by a neck in 1:56.1. It was the 11th win of the year and 53rd victory of his career for Lucky McTrucky ($6.00) who has won $79,765 in 2018 for owner Tessa Roland. JD Perrin trains the winner.

In the $9,900 Open II co-feature, Dark Horse (Ray Fisher Jr.) got away at the back of the pack and watched as Bahama Bay (Denny Bucceri) and Hardts Or Bettor (Drew Monti) battled hard on the front end past the half. Fisher tipped Dark Horse four-wide up the backstretch, took the lead in the final turn and pulled away to win by two lengths in 1:56. It was the fifth win of the year for Dark Horse ($4.70) who is owned by VHF Racing and is trained by Sabrina Cleavenger.

Ray Fisher Jr. led all drivers on Saturday scoring three wins on the night. Live racing resumes at Batavia Downs on Wednesday (Nov. 7) with post time for the first race at 5 p.m.

Pocono
The Somebeachsomewhere gelding Dreams Beachboy made it two straight over The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono’s oval, and four wins while not missing the board in his last eight starts, with a 1:51.2 victory in the $21,500 pacing feature on Saturday night. The track’s leading driver, George Napolitano Jr., worked out a pocket trip behind the pace-setting Sprinter N, while the latter, after getting to the quarter in :26.4, belied his name by resting to the half in :56.2. But down the backstretch first-over Music Is Art made life tougher on the leader, necessitating a 1:23.3 breaking of the beam at the three-quarter pole, and the extra expenditure of energy helped set up the late rally of Dreams Beachboy, who won by a half-length over the tough Music Is Art, with Sprinter N another neck back in third. Trainer Deborah Burnet is 2-for-2 at Pocono this year, both with the victorious winner of $242,784, for Crawford Farms Racing.

George Napolitano Jr.’s brother Anthony won the co-featured $16,000 claiming handicap pace, the night’s opener, with the Bettor’s Delight gelding The Onlyest One in 1:52.4. The winner visited Victory Lane for the 12th time this season, backing out to follow cover from his third-in position, then catching pace-setting That Man Of Mine and pocket-sitting Wick N by a neck, with the last two-named dead-heating for the deuce. Laurie Patistas owns and trains The Onlyest One.

There are only six more cards left in the 2018 Pocono season: the following Sundays, Tuesdays, and Saturdays, as Mondays will go dark for the remaining seasonal action, which concludes Nov. 17.