Batavia Downs opened its 2024 summer/fall meet on Saturday, July 27 with the three-year-old pacing filly division of the New York Sire Stakes (NYSS) in town featuring two six-horse fields that vyed for $80,694 each.

The first division was won by favourite A Few Choice Words (Courtly Choice-Top Choice Hanover), who made every pole a winning one as she stepped up to face NYSS competition from the Excelsior Series. 

Jim Marohn Jr. put A Few Choice Words on the point off the gate and skated through fractions of :28.2, :57.2 and 1:25.3 before Stepabovetherest (Braxten Boyd) pulled from third and tried to advance. But the closest she would get to the leader would be second, next to the pocket-sitting Leannes Choice (Marcus Miller) because A Few Choice Words turned for home and paced with authority to the line where she won in 1:54.

The win was the third in a row and sixth out of the last seven starts for A Few Choice Words (pictured above), who is trained by Blake MacIntosh and owned by Clancy Farms of Severn, Ont.

There was an upset in the second division when Shes Epic (American Ideal-Booya Beach) shook loose and flew home late at 15-1. 

Camerican (Jim Morrill Jr.) grabbed the lead from Peace Talks (Jim Marohn Jr.) just before the :28.2 quarter and then tempered the pace to the half in :57.4. Camerican continued her easy lead around the third turn and up the backstretch until Tyler Buter pulled Shes Epic from fourth and made their way to second by three-quarters in 1:26.4. Shes Epic pulled alongside Camerican and the pace got decidedly more intense as the fillies matched strides around the final bend and into the stretch. Despite their best efforts, neither girl could get ahead until three pylons from the wire where Shes Epic lived up to her name and rode a :26.4 final panel to a one-half length victory in 1:54.

The win was the third of the year rp, seven starts for Shes Epic ($33.40), who is trained by Travis Alexander and owned by breeder John Cummins of Lexington, Kentucky. 

Buter got the hat trick on Saturday after winning two $27,778 Excelsior divisions with Hurricaneaphrodite (1:54, $3.90) for trainer John McDermott and Tempville (1:56.1, $4.90) for trainer George Ducharme.

Ducharme also trained the winner of the third Excelsior division, Villannah (1:55.2, $13.80), driven by Jim Morrill Jr., who also had a hat trick on Saturday night. 

Live harness racing resumes at Batavia Downs on Tuesday, July 30 at 6 p.m.  

(With files from Batavia Downs)