The front end was definitely the place to be at Buffalo Raceway on Saturday afternoon and Panettone Hanover ($5.40) captured the $20,139 Open Pace going coast to coast.
It was a tough day for closers as eight victories were achieved in gate-to-wire fashion while three other winners were horses stalking from the pocket.
Panettone Hanover made the feature a no contest as he blitzed the field by 6-1/2 lengths in rein to Jim Morrill Jr. Setting the way with fractions of :29, :56.4 and 1:25.3 over the "good" track, Panettone Hanover used a moderate :29 last quarter to seal the deal as the other five entrants could only watch. Livononjaxandqueens (James McNeight Jr.) collected second-place honours with Davey Day Trader (David McNeight III) rolling in for third.
Co-owned by El Dorado Stables and Michael Torcello, the five-year-old Captaintreacherous-Panera Hanover gelding is trained by Samuel Smith. The win, his second in eight starts this year and 17th overall, moved Panettone Hanover's earnings to $229,474.
Vel Mr Nice Guy ($9.30) also led every step of the way in taking the sub-featured $17,361 conditioned pace. Victorious nine times last season, he finally broke into the win column in 2025 with a 2-1/2-length decision over Thorn Toad in 1:57.1.
Vel Mr Nice Guy, a winner of more than $100,000 last year, hadn't hit the board in three attempts thus far. But he turned it around nicely this time with Joseph Chindano Jr.
Getting the lead at the start from the six spot, Vel Mr Nice Guy stomped out fractions of :28.4, :58.3 and 1:27.4. Down the stretch, he enjoyed a comfortable advantage as Thorn Toad (Kyle Swift) made a belated rally but came up short. Out On Bail (Morrill Jr.) was third.
Owned by Jeff Savidge Racing and trained by Maggie Chindano, Vel Mr Nice Guy (Straight Shooting-She Can Dance) is a seven-year-old gelding that has put $331,109 in the bank while winning 38 times.
Drew Monti showed the way on the card by posting four driving wins while Kevin Cummings, Morrill Jr. and James McNeight Jr. had doubles. Smith and Shawn McDonough each had a pair of training victories.
Racing returns on Wednesday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. with an 11-race card.
(With files from Buffalo Raceway)