Biscoe ($13.60) used a big brush down the backstretch and just kept rolling from there as he broke the Buffalo Raceway track record for four-year-old stallion trotters on Saturday evening, June 29.
Biscoe turned in a 1:55.3 mile over the 'good' track in the $16,712 Open II Trot. He snapped the old mark of 1:56.2 established on May 13, 2022 by Barn Hall.
Owned and driven by James McNeight Jr., Biscoe sat fifth through the opening half, as Muskingum set the tempo with fractions of :28.1 and :57.2. But Biscoe was first up heading down the backstretch the final time and blitzed his way to the lead, leaving Muskingum in his wake. Turning for home, Biscoe was all alone and used a :28.3 final panel to easily dispose of the favoured Treasured Tee (Drew Monti) by 3-3/4 lengths in the record-setting time.
Trained by Jim McNeight, the International Moni-Settheworldonfire horse has now won four times in 13 appearances, producing $45,802 on the year and $119,994 in his young career.
Canadian-campaigned Power And Grace ($3.70) was a determined damsel in the $19,178 Open Trot as she notched a hard-fought victory by a neck over Valentine Express in a seasonal best of 1:56.1.
The lone mare in the top level trotting event, Power And Grace watched Crazy Ritz take an early lead but zoomed back around and set fractions of :28.4, :58.1 and 1:27.2. But things were about to get interesting from there. With Valentine Express (Kevin Cummings) attacking on the outside and Crazy Ritz (James McNeight Jr.) on the inside, Power And Grace was stubborn and refused to succumb to the onslaught she faced in the drive to the wire. Her extremely strong will approaching the finish line resulted in her eighth victory of the season in 19 starts.
Owned by Hartel Maintenance LLC, Lormer McClure, Brett MacDonald and Reg Higgs, the nine-year-old Holiday Road-Mark Of Honour mare is trained by Ronald MacDonald. The win upped her seasonal earnings to $84,056 and $580,200 lifetime.
Mach Le More A ($9.30) needed every inch of the track before eventually sneaking past Vel Mr Nice Guy by a half length in 1:53.1 in producing the victory in the $19,178 Open Pace.
With Better Take It and Davey Day Trader duking it out the front end, they'd soon give up the top two spots to the first-over Vel Mr Nice Guy (Joseph Chindano Jr.) and Mach Le More A (John Cummings Jr.). It appeared that Vel Mr Nice Guy, who turned for home first, might hold on for the win but Mach Le More A used one final, gutsy surge to collect the victory in the shadow of the wire. Trente Deo (Jim Morrill Jr.) was third.
Co-owned by Marissa Russo and Fac Racing LLC and conditioned by David Russo, the nine-year-old Mach Three-Runs On Love gelding has collected $76,008 on the campaign and $336,911 lifetime.
Racing will resume on Wednesday afternoon, July 3 at 2:30 p.m. with an 11-race card set. The New York Sire Stakes returns once again with a $108,200 USD race for the two-year-old filly trotters. There will also be a pair of $20,000 USD events for the two-year-old fillies in the Excelsior Series. There is an $861 carryover in the Pick 5, which begins in the second race.
(With files from Buffalo Raceway)