Second Hand News has turned out to be one of the "winningest" horses of the 2014 meet at Batavia Downs and on Friday night (Nov. 14) he added to that total with a victory in the $7,500 Open II trotting feature at the Genesee County oval.
Second Hand News (Kevin Cummings) flew off the gate to take an early lead, but Im The Cash Man (Drew Monti) also left and forced his way to the top by the quarter in :27.2. Rounding the turn, Cummings pulled to retake the front and this time it was for good. Second Hand News took the group to the half in :57.1 and the three-quarters in 1:27.2 before turning on the jets and coasting to a four-length victory in 1:57.2. Keystone Bernard (Dave McNeight III) stayed on task to be second and newcomer Jeanie Marie (Jimmy Whittemore) finished third.
The win was the 11th of the year for the 12-year-old Pathway To Victory gelding and sixth for trainer Ron Van Wagoner at Batavia since he claimed the horse for owners Vogel and Wags Nags Stable and Kent Conshafter. The former Yonkers Raceway regular now has $59,955 on his card to show for his 2014 efforts.
Dominating Downs driver Kevin Cummings executed another five-win night and pushed his dash win total for the Batavia meet to 142 (313 for the year). He scored with Joltfromtheblue ($13.40), Precise Accusation ($3.40), Second Hand News ($3.00), McCardle Direct ($13.40) and Bet On Me Hanover ($10.60).
Dave McNeight III also had a big night, visiting the winner's circle four times and Ron Beback Jr. chimed in with a driving double.
Live racing resumes on Saturday night (Nov.15) with post time at 6:35 p.m. There are only 10 nights of racing left in the 2014 season, which concludes on Saturday, December 6. The schedule remains on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights, all with a 6:35 p.m. post time.
(Batavia Downs)