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Leader of the Band (4), with jockey John Velazquez, leads the way to the win in the ninth running of the Summer Colony at Saratoga Race Course on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022.

Oxymore (3), with jockey Jose Ortiz aboard, accelerates to hold off the field for the win in eighth running of the Skidmore at Saratoga Race Course on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022.

Trainer Chad Brown is all smiles after his charge, Oxymore, with jockey Jose Ortiz, won the Skidmore at Saratoga Race Course on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Leader of the Band poked his head in front of First to Act at the top of the home stretch and then won the battle to the finish line in the $135,000 Summer Colony Stakes, one of the Saratoga’s Friday co-features. The win for Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez gave him a riding triple for the afternoon.

After being backed into the front of the starting gate,  the 4-year-old filly attended to the pace set by Evoutante for the first six furlongs. Velazquez swung the daughter of Bandbox five wide into the stretch and joined the battle with First to Act and Irad Ortiz Jr., the Spa’s leading rider.

At the wire, it was Leader of the Band by three-quarters of a length over First to Act in second place a head to the good of Envoutante. Leader of the Band ran the mile and a furlong in 1 minute, 49.65 seconds over a fast track.

The win for the SMD, Ltd. color-bearer was her sixth in 15 starts. Her Saratoga paycheck of $74,250 put her over the half-million mark in purse earnings with most of that sum coming from races at Monmouth Park and Parx Racing.

After the photos were taken, Leader of the Band’s trainer John Servis reported the filly’s owner Will Schwartz “actually pitched the race to me and said, ‘If she’s doing good, I’d love to go to Saratoga.’ I said we’d play it by ear. Coming up to this week, I said, ‘We’re going.’ ”

The co-featured $150,000 Skidmore Stakes for 2-year- olds racing 5 1/2 furlongs turned into a two-horse battle between Oxymore with Jose Ortiz aboard and No Nay Hudson with Velazquez trying for his fourth score of the day.

Oxymore, a gelded son of the Australian sire Astern, drew off in the last sixteenth of a mile to win by 1 1/4 lengths as the 6-5 favorite. The Irish-bred No Nay Hudson took second by three-quarters of a length over Private Creed and Ricardo Santana.

The win for Oxymore was the second straight in his two-race career and the second of the day for leading trainer Chad Brown of Mechanicville, who was at the track and attending to his training duties after being arrested Wednesday night and charged with  misdemeanor obstruction of breathing in an incident at his home.

Sol Kumin of the Madaket Stables purchased Oxymore for $30,000 at Keeneland’s September Sale last year. After the Skidmore, Kumin said, “That was a good buy. It looks like he’s going to go a little longer too. That’s what we were hoping for.”

Brown agreed with Kumin, saying, “When you look at this horse, he doesn’t look like a sprinter, so I’m excited to get him out in distance. He looks like a pure route horse.”

Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike breezed five furlongs in 59.82 seconds prepping for the Aug. 27 running of the $1.25 million, Grade I Travers Stakes over the Saratoga main track with exercise rider Gabriel Lagunes in the saddle.

Trainer Eric Reed said, “He worked really good. He worked faster than we thought he would. But, he did it easily.”

Trainer Wesley Ward has entered Love Reigns in Sunday’s $150,000 Bolton Landing. The 2-year-old daughter of U.S. Navy Flag has returned from the Royal Ascot meeting in England, where she finished fourth in the $137,000, Group II Queen Mary Stakes with Irad Ortiz Jr. in the saddle.

Ortiz will again pilot the Stonestreet color-bearer against eight rivals in the 5 1/2-furlong dash on the Mellon Turf Course.

Ward has also entered Stonestreet’s Irish-bred No Kay Never, a maiden winner at Indiana Grand in May. Tyler Gaffalione will ride her.

Michael Schrader’s Robin Sparkles will look for a another win in Saturday’s $150,000 Smart 'N Fancy Stakes for older fillies and mares.  In her most recent outing, the daughter of Elusive Quality made every pole a winning one in the Grade III Caress Stakes in the second week of the meeting.

Trainer Bruce Brown has named Hall of Fame rider Javier Castellano to ride.

Five horses went to the post in the first race on Friday’s card. Each of the maidens was eligible to be claimed for $40,000.

The winner, Ministerial, went back to Wesley Ward’s shed. Bella Blue Racing Stable and trainer David Jacobson kept the second-place horse, North Pole.

Strong Light, the show horse, was claimed by Ten Strike Racing and trainer Michelle Giangiulio. Psychic Income, the fourth-place finisher, is now the property of Joseph M. Grant. His new trainer is Ray Handel. No Code was taken by trainer Rudy Rodriguez for his own account.

Amore Thoroughbreds’ Riot House, a Gulfstream allowance winner in April, is back from his spring vacation. Trainer Danny Gargan is aiming at next week’s $135,000 Better Talk Now Stakes at a mile over the Inner Turf Course for horses that have never won a stake (other than state-bred) at a mile or longer.

Riot House prepped for his stakes engagement with a half-mile breeze over the Oklahoma turf course in 47.86 seconds on Sunday.

As soon as Friday’s sixth race was over, the stewards flashed the inquiry sign and Luis Saez, the rider on second-place Provision, claimed foul against Eric Cancel, who rode Let’s Go Big Blue to the win.

The glitch in the foul claim process was George Weaver trains both horses — Let’s Go Big Blue for August Dawn Farm and Provision for Gatsas Stables, R.A. Hill Stable and John Gaspar.

After viewing the videos several times, the stewards let the original placing stand.