All eyes will be on Batavia Downs on Saturday, Sept. 6 as the track hosts the $2.4 million USD New York Sire Stakes Night of Champions, which is the richest card of racing scheduled to take place that night.
Eight races valued at $300,000 USD each will go to post and feature some of the top first and second-year performers in North America that were bred in the Empire State.
Here is a preview of the stellar resumes of each divisional leader.
Two-year-old trotting filly - Sharp Seven (Chapter Seven-Lookin Sharp) - Jeff Gregory driving for trainer George Ducharme
Sharp Seven comes in first or second in five of her seven lifetime starts that includes three wins, two of which were in her last two outings. She is tied as the third richest two-year-old trotting filly in North America ($283,792) and also tied as the fourth richest two-year-old trotter overall regardless of gender.
Sharp Seven is the substantial leader in points and earnings in NYSS action for this group and has the fastest win time (1:55) of anyone in the field.
Two-year-old trotting colt - Titans Mischief (E L Titan-Morosita Bi) - Matt Kakaley up for trainer Bruce Clarke
Titans Mischief has been the picture of consistency this year, winning three races and finishing second four more times in his seven starts. He is the second richest ($273,406) two-year-old trotting colt in North America and fifth richest two-year-old trotter overall regardless of gender.
Titans Mischief tops his NYSS division for points and earnings and also posts the fastest win time (1:55.2) of any of his competitors tonight.
Two-year-old pacing filly - Liberty Style (American Ideal-Fly In Style) - Jason Bartlett at the controls for trainer Andrew Stafford
Liberty Style has four wins in seven starts this year including three gate-to-wire victories in her last four starts. She is the fourth richest ($199,885) two-year-old pacing filly in North America and ninth richest two-year-old pacing filly overall regardless of gender.
Liberty Style narrowly tops her division in points and earnings but has the fastest win time (1:52.1) by a good margin coming in.
Two-year-old pacing colt - Fragment (Huntsville-The Show Returns) - Jason Bartlett at the lines for trainer Per Engblom
In a division that is almost a dead heat, Fragment has had an outstanding year and boasts five wins in seven starts with one second in his seven starts. Those wins have him placed as the second richest ($292,776) two-year-old pacer overall regardless of gender in North America.
Fragment sits first by a small margin in NYSS points and earnings and his mark (1:52) is just one-fifth of a second faster than his competition here.
Three-year-old trotting filly - My Debt Collecter (Chapter Seven-Magic Presto) Tyler Buter to drive for trainer Nifty Norman
My Debt Collecter set the Batavia Downs track record (1:56.4) for two-year-old trotting fillies last year in NYSS action during her very successful freshman season. This year she has come back even better, as she has not missed the board in her 12 starts while posting seven wins, three seconds and two thirds and banking $474,663. That total makes her a stand out in North America as the second richest three-year-old trotting filly (behind only Hambo Oaks winner Conversano), fifth richest three-year-old trotter overall and eighth richest trotter regardless of age. She has also lowered her lifetime mark to 1:54.3 along the way.
As the big leader among this NYSS group, My Debt Collecter has 312 points and $284,135 USD in earnings, which are both the most accumulated by any NYSS competitor this year.
Three-year-old trotting colt - Variegated (Chapter Seven-White Cheetah) - Jason Bartlett up for trainer Marcus Melander
Variegated, who was the NYSS Champion at two, is a four-time winner this year in nine starts with two second place finishes as well, and those placements have earned him $354,102 in purses. That makes him the fifth richest three-year-old trotting colt in North America and eighth richest three-year-old trotter overall regardless of gender.
Variegated has only raced in three of the seven NYSS preliminary legs due to Grand Circuit commitments that included an elimination of the Hambletonian. However he is still the points leader but sits second for earnings closely behind Seven Layer, who raced in all seven legs leading up to this final.
Three-year-old pacing filly - The Last Martini (Huntsville-Martinique) - Jason Bartlett above the wheels for trainer Jared Bako
The Last Martini is another two-year-old NYSS Champion looking to repeat and has the ability to do it. She has four wins, three seconds and one third in her 10 starts and comes into this race after being narrowly-beaten by only one-quarter length by Unreasonable in 1:50.2 in the Empire Breeders Classic. Her $392,715 earnings slotted as the second richest three-year-old pacing filly (behind only Miki And Minnie) in North America and eighth richest three-year-old pacer overall regardless of gender.
The Last Martini is also the points and earnings leader in her NYSS division.
Three-year-old pacing colt - Dandy Ideal (American Ideal-OK Heavenly) - Jason Bartlett listed for trainer Hunter Oakes
Dandy Ideal’s year has been nothing less than spectacular. He comes into this final on a six-race winning streak that includes stake victories in the Empire Breeders Classic and the Hempt, and a sizzling 1:48.2 win at Mohegan Sun Pocono in an overnight event at the beginning of this streak. He is nine of 11 on the board with earnings of $646,350 which makes him the fourth richest three-year-old pacing male in North America, and fifth richest pacer overall regardless of age or gender. And his 1:48.2 mark also has him tied as the fourth fastest three-year-old pacer overall regardless of gender.
Dandy Ideal narrowly leads his NYSS division in points and earnings as a result of his only four series starts.
The New York Sire Stake final events are programmed as race two, three, five, six, eight, nine, 10 and 11.
Batavia Downs has also announced that there will be two guaranteed pools on Saturday that involve six of the eight finals.
Both Pick-4 wagers will be guaranteed at $7,500. The first is race three, four, five and six, which includes three NYSS finals, and the second is in race seven, eight, nine and 10, which also include three NYSS finals.
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 free to download at ustrotting.com under the Handicapping tab.
Free full card past performance programs for every live card of racing at Batavia can always be downloaded at the Batavia Downs website (bataviadownsgaming.com) under the “Live Racing” tab, with free live streaming available on Batavia Downs' YouTube page.
(Batavia)