Cold, flurries and a snow-covered track greeted Wednesday night's (Dec. 8) harness racing participants at Batavia Downs, but they weren’t the only things Delilah De Vie had to deal with before she won the headlining $12,100 Open II Handicap for distaff pacers.
As the race swept into the first turn, Queen Of Thrones (Ray Fisher Jr.) crossed over and interfered with Come Get The Cash (Leon Bailey), who then made a break in front of Delilah De Vie (Dave McNeight III) causing her — and others — to break and come to almost a complete stop. Queen Of Thrones then kept going and got to the quarter in :28.4 with No Where To Hide (Kevin Cummings) and Lady London (Drew Monti) in closest pursuit. When the group got to the half, McNeight had gathered Delilah De Vie together and was on the pylons travelling fourth.
Queen Of Thrones continued to lead up the backstretch, but Delilah De Vie gained ground into third on the outside. The top three horses all had a shot as the race headed into the stretch, with Queen Of Thrones flanked by No Where To Hide on her left and Delilah De Vie to her right. At the line, Delilah De Vie was strongest of all, winning by one length in 1:58.1.
Queen Of Thrones finished second, but was disqualified and placed last for the interference she caused at the start of the race.
It was the sixth win of the year for Delilah De Vie ($18.60) and owner-trainer Brianne Good.
In the undercard $11,250 fillies and mares Open III pace, Rosecroft newcomer Triple Dip (Kevin Cummings) made her first Batavia Downs start a winning one, going gate-to-wire and holding off a stubborn Watchwhatmyfeetdo (Denny Bucceri) by a half length in 1:57.3. Triple Dip ($8.80) is owned by Mike Torcello and trained by Gerry Sarama.
Cummings, Torcello and Sarama connection also won with McDelicacy (1:58.1, $6.90) earlier in the card, giving each two wins for the evening.
Driver Denny Bucceri also had two wins during the card.
The 2-3-5-2-4 combination in the guaranteed $10,000 Pick-5, which attracted a final pool of $10,592, returned $1,254 for a 50-cent wager.
Batavia Downs will close out the 2021 meet on Saturday (Dec. 11) with a pair of mandatory payouts. There is a $3,500 guaranteed pool in the Pick-5 wager beginning in the first race, and in race six, there is a carryover of $1,188 in the 20-cent Jackpot Pick-6.
Post time for the first race is slated for 5 p.m.
(Batavia Downs)