Dave McNeight III, AKA “Triple Sticks”, has been on a tear of late at Batavia Downs and he stayed scary good on Saturday (Oct. 31) as he won five races on the matinee card.
He scored with Thor De Vie (1:54, $3.20), Barry Hanover (1:55, $10.40), Daylight Rush (1:55.2, $3.80), This Baby Rocks (1:57.3, $41.20) and In Runaway Bay N (1:56.1, $4.10).
McNeight currently sits in fourth place in the driving race but has been gaining a lot of ground lately. In the last six cards of racing McNeight has won 16 races.
The top race of the day was the $8,500 Open I Handicap Pace and after not seeing the starting gate for 21 days, Mr Euroman N made his return to action a triumphant one after a late stretch rush to grab the feature win.
Mr Euroman N (Billy Davis Jr.) got away sixth while Percys Z Tam (Jim Morrill Jr.) barked the orders on the front end with horses in single file behind. They hit the quarter in :27.3 and the half in a slow :58.1. Heading up the backside, Mr Euroman N was still sixth while only McSpidey (Denny Bucceri) pulled to make a bid.
Around the last turn McSpidey faded and Percys Z Tam looked a likely winner. But when they straightened for home, Stratosphere (Drew Monti) found room up the pylons, Tullow N (Shawn McDonough) tipped outside and Mr Euroman N shook loose from mid-pack and went four-wide and when the four horses hit the wire, Mr Euroman N was the best by a nose in 1:55.2.
It was the fifth win of the year for Mr Euroman N ($15.00) who is owned by Vogel and Wags Nags Stable, Team Rice Racing and Adelphi Bloodstock. Maria Rice trains the winner.
Billy Davis Jr., who currently sits second in the driver standings, also had a big day in the bike after he registered a grand slam on the card. Aside from winning the feature, his four scores were capped with a victory by the venerable 13-year-old pacer Expensive Toy (Camotion-Costly Toy) who went gate-to-wire in 1:58 to capture the 50th win of his long career. After having made 290 career starts, Expensive Toy has 50 wins, 52 seconds and 46 thirds with earnings of $468,848. Expensive Toy is owned and trained by Sabrina Shaw.
Live harness racing resumes at Batavia Downs on Wednesday (Nov. 4) at 5:00 p.m. There will be another guaranteed Pick-5 pool of $3,000 on Wednesday and it will again be part of the USTA’s Strategic Wagering Program with free program pages available on both USTA and Batavia Downs websites starting early next week.
(Batavia)