Tres Chic Bluechip brushed late from off the pace to score an upset victory in the $17,534 Open I-II Pace for fillies and mares at Batavia Downs on Monday afternoon, Sept. 1.
Kevin Cummings got away fourth with Tres Chic Bluechip as Downtown Tonight (Jim McNeight Jr.) and Forgot Thewallet A (Joe Chindano Jr.) traded leads three times as they raced to the quarter in :27.4. Forgot Thewallet A finally settled on the lead and got the girls to the half in :57.4. At that point, Rightfully Mine (Kyle Swift) pulled first-over and was followed by Tres Chic Bluechip as they motored up the backside. Forgot Thewallet A and Rightfully Mine continued to battle while all other horses were tightly placed as they entered the last turn. Halfway through that bend, Cummings tipped Tres Chic Bluechip off cover, cleared at the top of the stretch and pulled away by 1-1/2 lengths down the lane to win in a season's best 1:55.3. Won Surreal Deal (Kyle Cummings) finished second, with Summer Flash (Ray Fisher Jr.) getting up for third.
The win was the fifth of the year in 20 starts for Tres Chic Bluechip, who is owned by John Sixt of Sardinia, New York. The six-year-old daughter of Heston Blue Chip-Coco Chanel is trained by Judy Blaun. She paid $17.60 for the 7-1 upset.
Tres Chic Bluechip was only one of three wins for Cummings during the afternoon.
Denny Bucceri scored a very unconventional driving hat trick on Monday. He won two races driving horses and one atop a 10-speed bike in the 2025 renewal of the Batavia Downs Horseperson's Bike Race. Eight drivers and trainers went postward in the one-eighth mile dash with “Denny Boo” shooting to the front, pulling away by 15 lengths and winning bragging rights for the next calendar year.
There were also eight other winners in that race, those being fans who selected Bucceri to win and then were randomly drawn to receive one of the eight new bikes used in the race.
The Batavia Bike Race was sponsored by Lawley Insurance, the Western New York Harness Horsemen's Association, Wortzman Furniture, Wright Beverage Distributing and Wendy J. Photography.
Batavia Downs will offer three guaranteed pools on wagers this coming weekend. The first is on Friday, Sept. 5 in the 6 p.m. first race, where the Pick-5 has $1,113.57 carryover and will be guaranteed at $5,000. Then on Saturday, Sept. 6, Batavia Downs will host the $2.4 million USD New York Sire Stakes Night of Champions and there will be two guaranteed pools to further enhance the already plentiful betting opportunities of the cash-laden card. Both Pick-4 pools (beginning in race three and in race seve) will be guaranteed at $7,500 each for that Saturday night card. These guarantees are made in conjunction with the United States Trotting Association's Strategic Wagering Program and as such, free full past performance program pages will be available to download at ustrotting.com under the "Handicapping" tab, after the races are drawn.
(With files from Batavia Downs)