Alexas Sunshine, third last week after winning the April Reins Claiming Series final at the start of the month, got back to her winning ways with a neck victory over Bolt Of Beauty in the featured $14,932 optional-claiming pace for fillies and mares at Buffalo Raceway on Wednesday, May 20.

With the field condensed to six horses after a scratch, Major Megan (James McNeight Jr.) gained control of the front end from the outside post six. Past fractions of :28.4, :58.1 and 1:27.1, the field was in two lines heading into the final quarter-mile, leading to an all-out sprint to the wire.

Major Megan turned for home with a slight advantage, but the pocket-sitting Alexas Sunshine (Wade Tomaszewski) found room in the lightning lane and started to gobble up real estate. Bolt Of Beauty (Brett MacDonald) made her attempt on the outside and managed to get past Major Megan but couldn't overtake Alexas Sunshine, who claimed the victory in 1:57. Major Megan was third.

It's been a hectic six weeks for Alexas Sunshine. She was claimed on three different occasions in the April Reins Claiming Series at Buffalo as she won two of the three preliminary rounds along with a second-place finish. She then capped that off by capturing the final on May 1 from the Taylor Fritz barn, where she remains. The Wednesday victory was the fourth in 17 seasonal starts for Alexas Sunshine, a six-year-old daughter of Stay Hungry-Alexas Luck. All four 2026 wins have come since April 10. She now has 21 victories from 113 career starts and $233,881 in earnings. She paid $4.22 to win.

The first three races on the card were a chalk player's nightmare as big numbers filled the board. Keith Kash Jr. scored a $104.12 victory with Eveninstarzrapsody in the second race, and Kevin Cummings guided West River Ivory to a $28.18 decision in the first and Wifey Said So to a $57.68 win in the third. Cummings completed a triple on the 13-race card as Odds Beater returned $12.62 in the sixth race.

Monti finished the day with a triple. Shawn McDonough had two driving and training wins, and Samuel Smith sent out two winners.

Racing will continue at Buffalo on Friday with a 12-race program scheduled. There's a $1,264 carryover in the Pick 5, which begins in the second race.

(With files from Buffalo Raceway)