Trainer Gregg Sacco has enjoyed a very solid winter at Aqueduct and hopes it’s just the start of a big year in New York for his stable. Sacco, who has won six races from 19 starters during Aqueduct’s winter meet, plans to stable in New York year-round this year. “We’re definitely staying,” Sacco said Friday while overseeing his string at Tampa Bay Downs. “Will’s done a great job. It’s year-round racing.” Will is Sacco’s son, who has overseen a 20-horse string stabled at Belmont Park. Sacco said that number is expected to grow to 35 during the spring and early summer with some new clients expected to give him horses. He will likely be based at Belmont and Saratoga. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. One horse he hopes could have some success on the New York circuit this spring is Just Beat the Odds, a newly gelded 5-year-old who returns from an 11-month layoff in a second-level allowance that serves as the feature on Sunday’s nine-race Aqueduct card. Just Beat the Odds hasn’t been out since he won a second-level allowance at Tampa Bay Downs last April 14. The horse’s owner, Steve Brunetti, died eight days later. Just Beat the Odds needed surgery to remove a knee chip, and then logistics needed to be worked out regarding the Brunetti estate before he could run again. Just Beat the Odds was part of a three-horse package purchased by Donna Wright, for whom Just Beat the Odds will make his first start on Sunday. Just Beat the Odds is eligible for Sunday’s race because his win at Tampa last April was below the money-won clause for eligibility. Over the last three years, Sacco is 4 for 13 with a $4.11 return on investment with horses returning from a layoff of greater than 180 days, according to DRF Formulator. Just Beat the Odds worked nine times at Tampa before Sacco sent the horse up to New York, where he worked three times over the Belmont Park training track. That included a half-mile in 47.60 seconds, the second fastest of 149 works at the distance on Feb. 23. “Will put three works into him and he told me one work has been better than the next,” Sacco said. “Happy to get Manny [Franco] on him. He rode him once, and the horse has been training super.” Franco rode Just Beat the Odds to a second-place finish in the off-the-turf Carle Place Stakes in October 2023. This allowance marks the return to the races of the now 6-year-old High Oak off a 14-month layoff for trainer Bill Mott. High Oak won the first two starts of his career in 2021, including the Grade 3 Saratoga Special. He has gone winless in 12 starts since and has not been out since a runner-up finish in this condition in January 2024. Reasoned Analysis, trained by Chad Brown, won the Bay Shore at Aqueduct in 2024 but has not raced since finishing fourth in the Grade 1 Woody Stephens at Saratoga last June 8. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.