Heavy rain, strong winds and sloppy going were not the best conditions for racing on Wednesday night (Sept. 30) at Batavia Downs, but they were no match for the storm Billy Davis Jr. kicked up on the track while winning six races on the 13-race card.
Davis came out flying, winning both ends of the double with Surfers Paradise (1:57.3, $3.10) and The Land Shark (2:01.2, $14.80). He followed his sweep of the double up with victories with Wonderful World (1:56.1, $5.90), Pembroke Bada Bing (2:02, $22.20), Rockn Legend (2:00.3, $7.40) and Electric Chapel N (2:00.2, $4.30).
Davis, who is the defending dash driving champion at Batavia, started Wednesday in second place and 10 wins behind the current leader Jim Morrill Jr. But with Morrill drawing a blank during the card, Davis is now only four wins away from moving into a first-place tie.
Davis is also currently the 10th leading percentage driver in North America with a .342 Universal Driver Rating. Morrill is fifth in that category with a .377.
One race Davis did not win was the featured $8,500 Open I Trot. That race went to Lunar Credit and owner-driver Jim McNeight Jr., who lurked second behind leader Il Mago (Jim Morrill Jr.) all the way to the top of the stretch. Lunar Credit shot through a gap up the inside to catch the leader and fend off the fast-closing Daylon Phantom (Drew Monti) and Before I Die (Dave McNeight III) to win by a half length in 1:58.4.
Lunar Credit ($10.40) scored his fourth win for trained by Jim McNeight.
Jim McNeight Jr. also had a big night in the bike, winning two more races to score a hat trick.
Trainers Jim McNeight, Andy Torre, Don Niles and Sabrina Shaw all registered two wins on Wednesday.
Racing resumes at Batavia Downs on Saturday (Oct. 3) with post time at 6 p.m.
(Batavia Downs)