Batavia Downs in New York State will be commencing a drivers' challenge tonight at the half-mile oval. Over the eight-week challenge, top WEG circuit pilots Jody Jamieson, Luc Ouellette and Rick Zeron will each make appearances.
For eight consecutive weeks a different driver will appear every Wednesday at Batavia to compete for a winner-take-all $10,000 prize. All participating drivers will donate their 5% commission for that evening to the Breast Cancer Coalition of Rochester (BCCR).
"I'm pretty successful in this business so any time I can give back to racing, that's what I want to do," Zeron was quoted as saying in a democratandchronicle.com article previewing the event.
Each driver will be required to race in eight races, accumulating points based on where their horses finish. The driver with the highest point total at the end of the competition will win the $10,000 purse. The drivers will race from each position, starting at the rail in race 1 and finishing their night in Post 8 for Race 9. The horses they drive will be drawn at random.
Points will be awarded in the following manner: 9 points for first, 5 points for second, 3 points for third, 2 points for fourth and 1 point for fifth. If the All-Star driver's horse is scratched, he receives 2 points.
The drivers will hold a meet and greet session in the track lobby from 5:45 p.m. until 6:50 p.m., and a silent auction for harness racing memorabilia will be held. Included in the auction are signed bobbleheads of Brian Sears, Tim Tetrick and Jim Morrill Jr.
Listed below are the drivers and the dates they are scheduled to appear.
September 10 - Howard Parker
September 17 - Howard Okusko Jr.
September 24 - Jody Jamieson
October 1 - Rick Zeron
October 8 - Jim Morrill Jr.
October 15 - Stephane Bouchard
October 22 - Jeff Gregory
October 29 - Luc Ouellette
The event is sponsored by the Purple Haze stable, The Western New York Harness Horseman Association and Batavia Downs Gaming.
To read the democratandchronicle.com article which previews the event, click here.
(With files from Batavia Downs and democratandchronicle.com)