Batavia Downs hosted the New York Sire Stakes County Fair series, a program designed to help develop young horsepeople, on Thursday (July 15).
Kyle Swift made his first ever driving start a winning one when he steered the two-year-old pacing filly Pink Delight (Huntsville-Gentlemens Delight) to a perfectly-rated wire-to-wire win in the third race of the afternoon. Swift cut fractions of :31.2 and 1:05.1 in the short field of five before letting his filly loose to pace a back half of 1:00.1, with a :29.2 final panel, to win by two lengths.
“She got a little rammy behind the gate, so I let her leave out of there. Once she got on the front, she was fine,” said Swift. “Going to the half, she got a little lazy, but when the horse behind me pulled, she grabbed the bit and it was game over from there.”
The 16-year-old Swift, who will be starting his junior year at Akron (N.Y.) Central High School in the fall, said that the pandemic last year — which forced schooling from home — was advantageous to his development as a driver and trainer.
“Because I was home, I was able to be in the barn working everyday and worked with this filly in particular. I got along better with her than anyone else and she started to really come along. Right now, I am training five, and look forward to them all racing well.”
Swift comes from a background firmly established in harness racing as the son of driver Ray Fisher Jr. and trainer Ryan Swift. Fisher has 4,621 driving wins and over $20 million in earnings during his career, while Swift accounts for 415 wins and $2.5 million as a conditioner over the past decade. The abilities of Mom and Dad have certainly influenced Swift, who is looking to make a career of the sport.
The fastest pace went to the three-year-old gelding Garretts Drama (Art Major-Real Drama), who went in 1:59.4 for owner-driver Jimmy Whittemore and trainer Marissa Chadbourne.
On the trotting side, trainer Steve Pratt’s three-year-old filly Barn Baby (RC Royalty-Barn Babe) toured the facility in 2:00.4 to score an easy win with Kyle Cummings in the bike. Pratt co-owns the winner with Nancy Pratt, the Purple Haze Stables and Out In The Country Stable.
Whittemore, Cummings and Kevin Cummings all had two driving wins on Thursday's 13-race card.
The NYSS County Fair series will reconvene on Monday (July 19) in Chautauqua County in Dunkirk, New York. Post time is slated for 2 p.m.
(Batavia Downs)