Batavia Downs concluded its 62nd season of live harness racing on Saturday, December 6.
Four track records were established during the 2008 meet, including the all-age track record set by Kenneth J and Jim Morrill, Jr. Kenneth J lowered Michael Scores' 1:52.1 mark in the $40,000 Robert J. Kane Memorial Pace, when he took the historic track's showcase event in 1:52, besting Arts Ragin Jet and Jim McNeight by one length.
Other track records lowered during the year include two-year-old trotting sensation Donttellmywife, with Jeff Gregory, crushing Hitwiththeladies' previous record by over three seconds, when he trotted home in 1:59.3 in a New York Sire Stakes event. The Principle, with Dan Daley, shaded Bet To Win’s three-year-old record when he trotted to victory in 1:58.4 in an overnight event and Rakalees N, with John Cummings, Jr., tied Magic Sugar’s older mare record of 1:54.3.
Ron Beback, Jr. won his first-ever 'Downs' driving title, finishing the season with 80 wins in 397 starts, giving him a UDR of .327, while he banked $337,542. Ray Fisher, Jr. finished behind with 72 victories while Kevin Cummings, Jim McNeight and Jim Morrill, Jr. completed the top five. Robert McNeight, 25, won the Batavia Downs Gaming USHWA’s Rising Star Award.
Ron Beback, Jr. also won his first-ever training title with 73 victories and ended with an excellent .418 UTR. His stable had earnings of $297,079. Jim Graham was the second leading conditioner with 42 wins. Sherri Holliday, Robert Gruber III and Gerry Sarama rounded out the top five.
S Js Morgan was named Horse of the Year. He made 11 visits to the winner’s circle in only 15 starts, along with a second and a third. He earned $42,837 during the Summer Fall meet. S Js Morgan was also the Trotter of the Year. Smarty Merit was named Pacer of the Year.
James T. Dunn and James M. Dunn shared Owner of the Year honours.
Wanda Polisseni was honoured for her sponsorship of the All-Star Drivers Challenge. Jeff Gregory defeated seven others in the eight-week, $10,000, winner-take-all All-Star Drivers Challenge that doubled as a fundraiser for the Breast Cancer Coalition of Rochester. A total of $15,875 was raised during the event.
“Not all the numbers were positive but overall we had a good meet,” said Michael D. Kane, vice president of Live Racing. “We were down about $680 a night on-track but our total handle for the season was up over $550,000. Pretty good considering the current economic times. The return of our three and a half-hour TV broadcast, ‘Batavia Downs Live,’ clearly created more interest in our product.”
Around 150 new Dial-a-Bet accounts were opened once the show aired.
“I thought our racing department did a great job. We saw the most competitive racing here since Western Regional Off-Track Betting reopened the track in 2002. The percentage of winning favourites was way down from the previous year,” Kane said.
Pending New York State Racing and Wagering Board approval, the 2009 season will kick-off on July 27.
(Batavia Downs)
Upstate New York USHWA Lauds Batavia’s Best
It was an exciting night at Batavia Downs Saturday, as the Upstate New York Chapter of the United States Harness Writers Association was on hand to present its year-end awards to the best people and horse performers on the last night of the summer-fall meet. The weather outside was frightful, but the action on the track was delightful.
SJs Morgan was named Trotter of the Year and Horse of the Year. The six-year-old gelded son of SJs Photo won 11 races out of 15 starts and earned just under $43,000. He took a seasonal mark of 1.59.1. SJs Morgan is owned by William Switala and Jim Martin of Clarence Center, New York.
After beating his closest rival Arm And A Leg for the honour in the seventh race of the evening, Smarty Merit was named Pacer of the Year. Smarty scored six wins, three second-place finishes, and three thirds from 18 starts while earning just under $36,000 for the meet. He took a seasonal mark of 1.55 at Batavia. Smarty Merit is owned by James M. Dunn of Orchard Park, New York.
Ron Beback Jr. is the man who trains and drives these two horses. And it was no surprise that he was named Trainer and Driver of the Year for the Batavia Downs 2008 meet. “Rockin’ Ronnie” dominated the local action and he did it the old fashioned way. The majority of his wins came from his own stable and not from catch drives and in this day and age it is very hard to win a driving title that way. Listen to these numbers: as a trainer he had 255 starts, 73 wins, 42 seconds, 31 thirds with $296,000 in purses. He had a UTR of .420 and a 29% win percentage. As a driver he had 397 starts, 80 wins, 58 seconds, 53 thirds and $337,000 in earnings. His UDR was .330 and he had a 20% win percentage.
James M. Dunn and his father James T. Dunn (of Singer Island, Florida), were named Owners of the Year. The Dunns are the primary stakeholders of the Beback Stable and have infused his operation with many live horses this year. Kermunn, Starfire, Spacie Jessie, Pacific Jerry, Miss Groovy To, Blue Tees, Chautauqua Worms and Pacer of the Year Smarty Merit are all owned by the Dunns.
The Rising Star Award for the best young talent here went to Robbie McNeight. His improving driving skills were displayed most notably with his handling of the Open Class trotter Speed Pilot. With McNeight at the helm, he won four starts, took a mark of 1.58.2, and earned $24,000 in purses. McNeight also attends classes full time at the University of Buffalo.
The Chapter’s Good Guy Award went to Wanda Polisseni and the Purple Haze Stable. Wanda sponsored the Batavia Downs Driver Challenge to raise money for breast cancer research. Although she donated a substantial amount to the fundraiser outright, Wanda also purchased all the presentation blankets for the sponsored races which were held each Wednesday for eight consecutive weeks. She is a glowing example of how people who are involved in harness racing give back to the community.
Upstate New York USHWA would like to thank Danny Phillips Genesee Valley Farms who was our official trophy sponsor.
(With files from USHWA)