Driver Shawn Gray won five of the first eight races on Saturday night's harness racing card at Buffalo Raceway, including the featured $10,000 Open Pace with Cam Patch
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Cam Patch ($6.10) settled in fourth as eventual third place finisher Mark It On Ice (Kevin Cummings) cut the early fractions, :28.2 to the quarter and :58.2 to the half. Second place finisher Unicorn Hanover (Robert Verney) hit the three-quarters with the lead in 1:27, while Cam Patch was making a three-wide move to engage the leaders. A :28.2 last quarter-mile by Cam Patch put the margin of victory at three-quarters of a length at the finish line in 1:55.3.
The victory was the fifth this year in 14 attempts for Cam Patch, whose winning time ties his season’s best. The seven-year-old Cambest gelding is trained by Alex Giuliani, a three-time winner on the card, for Batavia, New York owners David P. Ball and Jerry R. Reinhart. The $5,000 share of the winning purse put Cam Patch’s season’s earnings at $34,000 and lifetime bankroll at $183,031.
(With files from Buffalo Raceway)