Liberty Style looked the part of a defending New York Sire Stakes (NYSS) champion as she dominated the field in the $169,167 NYSS second leg for three-year-old distaff pacers at Buffalo Raceway on Wednesday, June 10.
After winning the NYSS crown last season, Liberty Style has been nothing but perfection through her first two starts in 2026. She took the NYSS first round at Saratoga on May 31 by 3-1/4 lengths in 1:52.3, then scored in 1:55 at Buffalo on Wednesday.
Liberty Style immediately stamped her dominance over the competition as she fired out from post two and made the two trips around the half-mile oval look like a public workout. Never leading by less than 1-1/2 lengths through fractions of :28.3, :58.2 and 1:27, Liberty Style enjoyed a comfortable 3-1/4-length lead over Taledega Express (Leon Bailey) turning for home.
There weren't any anxious moments down the stretch as driver Jason Bartlett took his foot off the gas with Liberty Style, who posted the easy victory by 1-1/4 lengths. Surreal Spirit (Jeff Gregory) rallied late for second-place honours with Taledega Express third.
Owned by trainer Andrew Stafford and Bonnie Benson, Liberty Style has now collected $584,720 in career earnings. The daughter of American Ideal-Fly In Style is now seven-for-12 lifetime. She paid $2.28 to win.
There weren't any big surprises in the three $27,778 Excelsior Series for the sophomore ladies.
American Cheese ($2.10) was the quickest of the winners as she covered the mile for driver Bartlett in 1:56.4, beating Unplugged (Mike Whelan) by 3-1/4 lengths. Bueckers (Kevin Cummings) was third.
Imsodelightful ($7.14) rallied for driver Braxten Boyd to beat Bellbottom Country (Bartlett) by two lengths in 1:57.1 in the second split. Vintage Vino (Kevin Cummings) completed the ticket.
Shes In The Juice ($3.20) went first-over and produced a two-length victory over American Sunshine (Bailey) in 1:57. Imdagirlofurdreams (Braxten Boyd) finished third. Drew Monti piloted the winner to her third consecutive victory.
Brett MacDonald had four victories, Monti had a driving triple, and Bartlett and Kyle Cummings each posted two wins on the 15-race card. Trainers Ronald MacDonald and Samuel Smith found the winner's circle twice.
Racing will return to Buffalo on Friday at 2:30 p.m. with 12 races going to the post. There's a $10,000 guaranteed pool in the Pick 5, which begins in the second race.
(With files from Buffalo Raceway)