Back in 1989 when Kevin Cummings scored his first victory of his career behind Orlando Otto, he was just hoping someday he'd reach 1,000 driving wins. Well on Saturday night (April 17), he soared well beyond those dreams from way back when.
Cummings reached the 4,000-victory plateau in his brilliant career and did so in style by steering Atlantis to a $26.20 upset win in Buffalo Raceway's fifth race.
"I didn't think about four thousand wins until a few weeks ago. It kind of crept up on me," Cummings said. "But then I knew it was just a matter of time. Getting four thousand wins is great but now I am looking forward to getting four thousand and one."
The 50-year-old Cummings, with 4,000 wins under his belt, added to his list of accomplishments that includes six driving titles at Buffalo Raceway and four championships at Batavia Downs. He has netted over $18.7 million in career purse earnings.
It didn't take Cummings long to get to 4,001 as he guided Santana Beach to his fourth straight victory by capturing the $11,200 Class AA-Open Handicapped Pace by beating Mr Ham Sandwich by three-quarter lengths in 1:54.2, the fastest of the 2021 meet. Cummings completed the evening with three wins.
Watching Thor De Vie set splits of :28, :56.2 and 1:25, Santana Beach was in fourth and chomping at the bit to begin his first over journey heading toward the three-quarter marker.
From there, Santana Beach left the field in his wake and punched his ticket to the winner's circle. Mr Ham Sandwich was second while Southwind Onyx took third.
Trained by Richard Roth and owned by Jason Newell, it was the fifth victory in eight attempts for the nine-year-old gelded Santana Beach (Santanna Blue Chip-Beachs Luck). The win upped his seasonal bankroll to $22,214 and $198,489 in his career. He paid $12.60 to win.
In the co-main event, Mr Quaker trotted up a storm in deep stretch and cruised by Southern Palms to take the $10,500 Class A-Open Handicapped Trot by three-quarter lengths in 1:57.3 over the "fast" track.
Mr Quaker followed the tempo-setting Southern Palms from third but drifted out to get into scoring position in the stretch drive. With a late burst approaching the wire, Mr Quaker rumbled past Southern Palms while Majestic Kat, who made a brief costly break, collected herself in time to get third place.
Owned by Mary Warriner and trained by Ryan Swift, it was the fourth win in nine starts for the six-year-old gelded Mr Quaker (Pilgrims Chuckie-Julia Jett. The victory jacked his 2021 earnings to $20,470 and $177,439 in his lifetime. He paid $6.30 to win.
Fisher Jr. completed the night with five driving wins while Swift scored four training victories and Roth conditioned two.
Racing will continue on Wednesday night (April 21) with a 12-race program scheduled for 5 p.m. (EDT).
(Buffalo Raceway)