Saratoga Snacks eyes a second Empire Classic win

ELMONT, N.Y. – Saratoga Snacks will try to win the Empire Classic for the second time in three years when he heads a field of nine entered for Saturday’s running at Belmont Park. The $300,000 Empire Classic is the richest of eight stakes – all for New York-breds – on an 11-race card known as Empire Showcase Day.

Purses total $1.75 million for the eight stakes. First post will be 12:25 p.m. Eastern, 30 minutes earlier than usual.

Saratoga Snacks will be running in the Empire Classic for the fourth consecutive year. As a 3-year-old in 2012, he finished second for trainer Gary Sciacca. He won it for Sciacca in 2013 and was fourth in it last year for trainer Bill Mott.

Back with Sciacca this year, Saratoga Snacks has won two of five starts. He is coming off a nose loss to Royal Posse in the Evan Shipman Stakes at Saratoga on Sept. 4.

On Monday, Saratoga Snacks worked a half-mile in 48.01 seconds over the Belmont training track.

“His last three works have been super, just on his own,” said Sciacca, who is now the owner of Saratoga Snacks. “He’s feeling tremendous, doing fabulous. If he can carry it on to Saturday, we’ll be okay.”

Among the horses Saratoga Snacks will meet in the Empire Classic are Empire Dreams, who beat Saratoga Snacks in the Commentator Stakes here in May, and Royal Posse. The others entered are Beyond Empire, Full of Mine, Johannesburg Smile, Good Luck Gus, Sioux, and Warrioroftheroses.