The first dash of Buffalo Raceway’s 2018 season will take place this Friday night (January 12), and it is only fitting that the contest will feature three award winners from the track’s 2017 season.

Empire Earl N, Buffalo Raceway's Trotter of the Year last season, will head the field in the featured $9,500 Open Trot, which is scheduled to head to post at 5 p.m. (the first of nine races scheduled for the card). The 10-year-old gelding is owned by driver Larry Stalbaum and is conditioned by Kim Asher, both of whom captured driver and trainer of the year honours, respectively, last year.

Stalbaum finished the year with 347 victories – 193 of which came at the Hamburg half-mile oval. He'll be busy on Friday night, as Stalbaum is slated to drive in all nine races.

Asher had the top UTR rating in the United States in 2017 – a .429 mark thanks in part to recording 219 victories from 784 starts. Her stable earned $1,157,977. She had 115 wins at Buffalo Raceway.

Last season, Empire Earl N won four of 11 starts at Buffalo Raceway and banked $32,000 from those starts. He drew many outside posts and was competitive in each appearance. Empire Earl N, who won $75,915 in 2017, has drawn Post 5 for Friday.

The wide open event will also include Northern Matador, Lucky Pablo, Fleet Bumblebee, Kahoku and Lenny Mac.

The Buffalo Raceway driving colony will sport regulars Drew Monti, Ray Fisher Jr., John Cummings Jr. and Shawn McDonough and will be joined by Billy Davis Jr. and Shawn Gray. Monti, Gray, Davis Jr. and Fisher Jr. are down to compete in all nine races as well.

Opening weekend will have free programs on Friday evening along with $3 off the popular fish fry dinner; while on Saturday night, customers will get $3 off the home style turkey dinner in the Winner's Circle Cafe.

Saturday evening also will feature the Lucky Exacta contest where patrons will receive a collectible Buffalo Raceway magnet with an exacta combination on the back of it. Should that exacta come in, winners will get to spin the wheel to collect up to $100 in free wagers. Also, all fans will get $10 in free play at Hamburg Gaming included with the magnet.

The Pick-5 wager will return with the sequence beginning in the second race each night. There's a 50-cent minimum wager and should no one hit it, there will be a carryover into the next night's card.

Post time on Wednesday and Friday evenings will be 5 p.m., while the start time on Saturdays will be 6 p.m.

(Buffalo Raceway)