In a dominant victory among a card full of close finishes, Wild Bill Kelso made quick and easy work of a short field that was reduced to four contenders by a scratch and a break in the featured $10,274 Class-B Trot on Tuesday, Jan. 27 at Batavia Downs.

Wild Bill Kelso flew off the wings to the front for Brett Beckwith and commanded the race at every station. Maintaining at least a two-length lead throughout the event, Wild Bill Kelso cut fractions of :29.3, 1:00 and 1:29.3 before rounding the last bend and bolting to the line 3-1/4 lengths in front of a field that had no answers in 2:00.1. Kruise On Dover (Ray Fisher Jr.) was second, followed by Fashion On A Star (Kyle Cummings).

The win was the third in the last five starts for the heavily backed Wild Bill Kelso ($2.62), who is owned by El Dorado Stables and Mike Torcello. Sam Smith trains the six-year-old son of Crazy Wow-Broadway Jo Ell, who is now 10-for-46 lifetime.

Wild Bill Kelso was one of three wins for Beckwith, who is currently the leading dash-winning driver at both Batavia Downs and The Meadowlands and the third-winningest driver in North America. Beckwith also won with Century Grizzly (2:00.2, $7.60) and the aptly named Twentysevenbelow (2:04.1, $5.28).  

Despite the stellar outing, Beckwith wasn’t the leading man on a frigid and snowy Tuesday afternoon. That honour went to Jim McNeight Jr., who posted a grand slam on the 11-race card, including a natural hat trick in races five through seven. McNeight Jr. won with Echo De Meautis Fr (2:03.4, $9.44), Memphistennessee N (2:01.3, $6.12), Vondell Kemp (2:03.3, $3.10) and Albright (2:01, $6.12).

Chris Petrelli was the leading trainer on Tuesday with two wins for his efforts.  

With no winner of the Pick Five again on Tuesday, there is a sizeable carryover of $2,201, and that has prompted the management of Batavia Downs to announce there will be a guaranteed pool of $7,500 for that wager in the first race on Thursday, when live racing reconvenes at The Downs. The guarantee is made in conjunction with the United States Trotting Association’s Strategic Wagering Program, and with that, TrackMaster will provide free downloadable programs (once available) on the USTA website (ustrotting.com) under the Handicapping tab.

Post time for the first race at Batavia on Thursday is 1 p.m.

(With files from Batavia Downs)