Saratoga Springs, NY – Trainer Ron Burke’s trio of entrants were the top three finishers in the Joe Gerrity Jr. Memorial Pace at Saratoga Casino Hotel led by This Is The Plan who won by a nose ahead of Rockapelo with Backstreet Shadow only another nose back.

This Is The Plan (#7, inside) won the 12th Annual Joe Gerrity Jr. Memorial Pace Saturday at Saratoga. Melissa Simser-Iovino Photo.

The top-flight conditioner brought his superstar This Is The Plan (Somebeachsomewhere) to town to lead the trio of pacers in the $150,000 race. Yannick Gingras piloted This Is The Plan who brought his close to $2.3 Million in career earnings to the Spa and wound up as the 7-5 betting favorite in the 12th annual Gerrity.

Gingras moved the standout to the lead in a :26.2 first quarter before giving way to fellow Burke trainee Backstreet Shadow (Tim Tetrick). That one retook command after the sizzling first quarter and cruised through the first half in :55.2. It appeared that after three quarters went in 1:22.3 that it would come down to those two stalwarts, but just then is when yet another Burke trainee tossed his hat into the ring.

Rockapelo (Matt Kakaley) was the longest shot on the board and he shook free around the final turn before surging in the stretch.

When This Is The Plan powered past Backstreet Shadow turning for home, it appeared that he had the race wrapped up until Rockapelo exploded in the lane and those two finished in a photo for the win. This Is The Plan prevailed by a nose and stopped the timer in 1:50.2, the fastest clocking of the season thus far at Saratoga and in doing so, won for the fifth time in the 2021 campaign.

Burke trainees comprised both the exacta and trifecta as they ran one-two-three in the season’s biggest events for pacers. The exacta with This Is The Plan and Rockapelo paid $116 for a $2 wager while the $2 trifecta with 8-5 second choice Backstreet Shadow third returned $337.50.

This Is The Plan, who now has seasonal earnings of $610,845, is owned by Burke Racing Stable, Weaver Bruscemi, J&T Silva- Purnell & Libby and Lawrence Karr. The 12th winner of the Gerrity was the runner-up in the 2019 installment of the memorial race when he finished second to stalwart McWicked at Saratoga two summers ago.

Incredibly, Gingras and Burke are the 12th different driver and trainer to win the Gerrity since its inception in 2009.

Live racing resumes on Monday afternoon (July 26) at Saratoga with a 13-race matinee that kicks off at noon.