Batavia Downs Gaming concluded its 62nd season of live harness racing on Saturday, with four track records established during the meet including the all-age track record set by Kenneth J and Jim Morrill Jr.
Kenneth J lowered Michael Scores' 1:52.1 mark in the $40,000 Robert J. Kane Memorial Pace, when he took the historic track's showcase event in 1:52, besting Arts Ragin Jet and Jim McNeight by one length.
Other track records lowered during the year include 2-year-old trotting sensation Donttellmywife, with Jeff Gregory, crushing Hitwiththeladies' previous record by over three seconds, when he trotted home in 1:59.3 in a New York Sire Stakes event. The Principle, with Dan Daley, shaded Bet To Win’s 3-year-old record when he trotted to victory in 1:58.4 in an overnight event and Rakalees N, with John Cummings Jr., tied Magic Sugar’s older mare record of 1:54.3. Ron Beback Jr. won his first-ever Downs driving title, finishing the season with 80 wins in 397 starts, giving him a UDR of .327, while he banked $337,542. Ray Fisher Jr. finished behind with 72 victories while Kevin Cummings, Jim McNeight and Morrill completed the top five. Robert McNeight, 25, won the Batavia Downs Gaming-USHWA’s Rising Star award. Bebackalso won his first-ever training title with 73 victories and ended with an excellent .418 UTR. His stable had earnings of $297,079. Jim Graham was the second leading conditioner with 42 wins. Sherri Holliday, Robert Gruber III and Gerry Sarama rounded out the top five. SJs Morgan was named Horse of the Year. He made 11 visits to the winner’s circle in only 15 starts, along with a second and a third. He earned $42,837 during the summer-fall meet. SJs Morgan was also the Trotter of the Year. Smarty Merit was named Pacer of the Year. James T. Dunn and James M. Dunn shared Owner of the Year honors. Wanda Polisseni was honored for her sponsorship of the All-Star Drivers Challenge. Jeff Gregory defeated seven others in the eight-week, $10,000 winner-take-all All-Star Drivers Challenge that doubled as a fundraiser for the Breast Cancer Coalition of Rochester. A total of $15,875 was raised during the event.
“Not all the numbers were positive but overall we had a good meet,” said Michael D. Kane, vice president of live racing. “We were down about $680 a night on-track but our total handle for the season was up over $550,000. Pretty good considering the current economic times. The return of our 3 1/2-hour TV broadcast, ‘Batavia Downs Live,’ clearly created more interest in our product.” Around 150 new Dial-a-Bet accounts were opened once the show aired. “I thought our racing department did a great job. We saw the most competitive racing here since Western Regional Off-Track Betting reopened the track in 2002. The percentage of winning favorites was way down from the previous year,” Kane said.
Pending New York State Racing and Wagering Board approval, the 2009 season will kick off on July 27. (Batavia)
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