Veteran pacer Mr Saratoga earned his first Alberta victory on Sunday afternoon in Alberta Downs' $8,500 Open when he launched a three-wide attack around the final turn and out-sprinted his rivals in the stretch.
Trained and driven by Quentin Schneider, insider Mr Saratoga followed leader Strikes N Charges (Travis Cullen) through fractions of :27.1 and :55.3 with Trust The Artist (Kelly Hoerdt) applying heavy first over pressure. But Mr Saratoga made his big winning move at the 1:23 third quarter mark and kicked home in :29-seconds to prevail by half a length in 1:52.2 over the late-closing No Fear (Brandon Campbell). Trust The Artist finished nearly five lengths behind in third.
The son of Million Dollar Cam, who entered the race with four second-place finishes from 10 provincial starts this season, paid $6.20 to win as the 2-1 favourite.
Mr Saratoga now boasts 31 career wins on his lifetime record and purses totalling $682,922.
The former WEG campaigner, who stood stallion in the province and did not race last year, is owned by Calgary's Glenn Pinel and Alan Christensen.
To view Sunday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Sunday Results - Alberta Downs.