With holiday activities now completed and the new year officially rung in, Batavia Downs is ready for the return of live harness racing on Monday, Jan. 6 when the 2025 winter season kicks off the 85th year of the historic Genesee County oval in New York.
The eight-week, 15-day run will be held on a Monday-Thursday rotation with post time for all race days set for 3 p.m. The meet will run through Monday, Feb. 24.
Don Hoover, Director of Live Racing at The Downs, is looking forward to the opening as the track is coming off another banner year.
“I’m very excited about the upcoming meet in view of the record numbers the track posted in 2024," said Hoover. "After showing a 10.5 per cent increase in our overall handle and realizing three one-day record handles in excess of $500,000 during our winter meet last year, I can only be optimistic about our product and ability to better those milestones this year. I can’t wait to welcome back our loyal customers.”
All of the top local horsemen and women will be on hand once again, including last year’s leading driver, Drew Monti, who posted a total of 136 wins that earned his connections $949,765 USD in purses, and trainer Sam Smith, whose horses won a total of 90 races and bankrolled $658,622 USD as a result of those efforts.
The local driver colony will have a new regular set of hands to contend with this year when Brett Beckwith makes Batavia his home twice a week for the next two months.
Beckwith raced sporadically at the Batavia winter meet last year and finished a close third for dash wins. This year as a regular, he will definitely be vying for the top spot on the leaderboard.
Beckwith is coming off a career-year in 2024 in which he won driving titles at both Saratoga Raceway and Plainridge Park. His combined 608 wins last year placed him third among all drivers in North America behind only Aaron Merriman and Jason Bartlett, and those wins helped his horses earn $6,271,414 USD in purses, while Beckwith himself earned a personal best UDR of .334. In December, Beckwith was named the United States Harness Writers Association's Dan Patch Rising Star for 2024, an award he will receive in February.
“I like to keep busy and I get a lot of work at Batavia," said Beckwith. "The track itself is great since they redid it and they keep it in great shape. The driving colony there is very competitive and will keep you on your toes. But I get a lot of live drives from the trainers who use me and that makes for some exciting racing. I’m looking forward to getting back to western New York.”
Beckwith looks to get off to a fast start and has 10 drives on the 15 -ace card on Monday to help facilitate that.
The betting menu for each 15-race card features six Doubles, 15 Exactas, 15 Trifectas, 14 Superfectas, two Pick-3s, three Pick-4s, one Pick-5 and one Jackpot Super High Five in the final race each day.
There are two promotions available for the track’s in-house customers on all live race days that add value to their wagers by providing free play on the gaming floor. The Early Bird Daily Double gives $10 back in free play when a minimum $10 is bet on the Early Daily Double between 1:45 p.m. and 2:45 p.m. and the Match Play Free Play Frenzy returns $25 in free play to anyone betting $25 at the same time on the same live Batavia Downs race. You must be a Player’s Club member to take part in both promotions and full rules are available at the track.
Fans on hand will also have food and drink options available to them each race day at the Homestretch Grill and the Clubhouse Rail Bar.
Free full past performance programs for all live racing days at Batavia Downs can be downloaded from the Batavia Downs website at bataviadownsgaming.com under the "Live Racing" tab and fans can watch all the live racing action as it happens for free on the Batavia Downs YouTube page @BataviaDownsGaming.
(Batavia Downs)