Castyourcrown let J S Hopscotch do all the heavy lifting in Buffalo Raceway's $15,500 Open Trot on Friday afternoon (May 5), but in the end, he proved to be the strongest.

J S Hopscotch watched Castyourcrown take early control off the starting gate, but driver Kyle Cummings immediately put him back on the point. With fractions of :29, :58.4 and 1:28.1 posted by J S Hopscotch, the final panel was going to decide the outcome.

Driver David McNeight III wasted no time in getting the pocket-sitting Castyourcrown to the outside at the top of the stretch. From there, Castyourcrown was in attack mode and just powered past the pacesetter to register the $19 upset victory by 1-1/4 lengths in 1:57.2. J S Hopscotch had to settle for second-place honours with Yucatan Party Man and Keith Kash Jr. taking third.

Co-owned by Blake Daniels and Never Give Up Racing, five-year-old gelding Castyourcrown (Dontyouforgetit-Future Cast) is trained by Michael Deruntz. The victory was the fourth in 16 outings this year for Castyourcrown, now a winner of $40,652 in 2023 and $197,630 lifetime.

In an $11,500 conditioned trot, Alan ($5.10) responded nicely after suffering a nose loss in the Open Trot on April 28 and beat Mugshots Bro by a neck in 1:59.2 over the fast track.

Getting a bit of class relief, Alan (Kevin Cummings) wasted no time in firing off to the lead, posting splits of :29.4, 1:00.1 and 1:29.4. Alan was helped along the way as the favoured Batting Stats and Lady Ruth each broke stride along the way.

Things got a little dicey in the lane, however, as Alan began to drift out, allowing Mugshots Bro (Dan Yetman) and J S Swanman (Joseph Chindano) an opportunity to cut into the margin on the inside. But Alan was resilient enough in the stretch to hold on for the diminishing neck win. Mugshot Bro took the second-place cheque while J S Swanman was third.

Owned by Julie Wagonblott and trained by Joe Alba, seven-year-old gelding Alan (Dontyouforgetit-Betty Jean) earned his fifth victory in 12 tries this year. The win vaulted his seasonal earnings to $46,508 and career bankroll to $172,428.

Jim Morrill Jr. completed the afternoon with four tallies while James McNeight, Chindano Jr. and McNeight II each collected doubles. Trainer Michael Ohol notched two victories on the day.

Racing will resume on Saturday afternoon with a special 2:30 p.m. post to accommodate the running of the Kentucky Derby. The 12-race program will feature the $14,500 Open I-II Pace along with a trio of $11,500 events for high classed pacers.

(With files from Buffalo Raceway)