Ziegfeld won the $11,000 Open Trot in 1:58.3 at Buffalo Raceway Friday night (May 24).
The win was the fifth in 12 attempts this season for Ziegfeld, a five-year-old Broadway Hall gelding trained by Gerry Samara and owned by Michael Torcello of Hamburg, New York.
Ziegfeld ($12.20), the 5-1 second choice in the betting, settled in second from post four with driver Ray Fisher Jr. in the bike as eventual second-place finisher Mythical Hall (Kevin Cummings) cut all the fractions in the race of :28.4, :58.4, and 1:28.4. As the field hit the top of the stretch, Ziegfeld swung to the inside passing lane, and with a :29.3 last quarter-mile, beat the heavy favourite Mythical Hall by three-quarters of a length at the finish line. Hour Lavec (John Cummings Jr.) came in third.
The $5,500 winner's share of the purse put Ziegfeld’s seasonal earnings at $33,080 and lifetime earnings at $140,762 lifetime. The win was his 17th in 76 lifetime starts.
Fisher Jr. led all drivers with four wins on the night.
(With files from Buffalo Raceway)