It may be Father's Day on Sunday (June 17) but it is the ladies who will be front and centre at Buffalo Raceway as the three-year-old filly trotters prance into town to square off in four divisions of the New York Sire Stakes with each leg carrying a purse of approximately $30,000.
The defending two-year-old filly champion of the New York Sire Stakes, Lucky Ava, is entered and will compete in the second division which will go off as the second race on the 12-race program. She is the even-money morning line favourite.
Lucky Ava (Lucky Chucky-Ava Manon) is off to a great start already in 2018 with three victories in four tries. A pair of her wins have come in New York Sire Stakes competition as she has amassed a bankroll of $50,968 this season and $254,564 in her brief 14-race career.
In her last outing on June 4 at Monticello Raceway, Lucky Ava blasted the field in the Sire Stakes with an 11-length score in 1:58.4 for co-owner/trainer/driver Ake Svanstedt.
The bad news for the other four that drew into her bracket is the fact Lucky Ava rolled to an easy victory last season at Buffalo Raceway so she knows her way around the Hamburg half-mile oval.
The rest of the field hoping to pull off the upset includes Goddess Ofgoodness (Per Henriksen), Haulin Banc (Scott Zeron), Girl Talk (Drew Monti) and Red Reign (Jim Morrill Jr.).
The opener on the program, which begins at 12:30 p.m., has Somedew Somedont (Deweycheatumnhow-Someday) the top contender. Trained by Dale Lawton and with Marcus Miller scheduled to drive, Somedew Somedont has finished second in two straight Sire Stakes events and looks to break out of that runner up habit.
The main threat should come from the Svanstedt trainee Ciao Dolce (Credit Winner-Pizza Dolce) who is fresh off a length victory in the Sire Stakes at Monticello on June 4 in 1:59.4.
The first race also includes Arabellas Cadet (Mark Etsell), Sevenbuyeleven (Zeron), Cherry Peep (Dan Daley) and Firm To Stay (Morrill Jr.).
Lima Novelty, also a winner last season at Buffalo Raceway as a two-year-old, drew the rail in the third division with Zeron in the bike. A winner four times in 2017 and earning a spot in the Sire Stakes finals, Lima Novelty (Chapter Seven-No Pictures Please) has a pair of third place finishes thus far in 2018 in three tries.
The other six participants looking to knock off Lima Novelty include Jackie Newlands (Morrill Jr.), Pleaspleaspleas (Bryan Andersen), Logetta Hanover (Kevin Cummings), Exs And Ohs (Etsell), Natalie Hanover (Svanstedt) and Corrupt (Monti).
Finally, the last leg has Tribute To Seven (Chapter Seven-Southwind Confetti) topping the list of competitors with Zeron scheduled to be in the sulky. Last time out on June 4 in the Sire Stakes at Monticello, she bruised the field by notching a 6-3/4 score in a throttled-down 2:01.
The field also includes White Cheetah (Morrill Jr.), Fury Road (Svanstedt), Perfect Summer K (Ray Fisher Jr.), Golden Muscle (Monti) and Supergirl Riley (Miller).
With hot and muggy conditions in the forecast on Sunday, the Buffalo Raceway track record for the three-year-old filly trotters of 1:58.2 shared by High Rise (2015), Straight A Student (2016) and Fad Finance (2016) could be in serious jeopardy.
There are also three $15,000 divisions of the Excelsior A Series and a pair of $6,500 Excelsior B Series races slated.
The Father's Day program will also feature the "Lucky Exacta Magnet" giveaway along with free sno-cones and cotton candy for the kids. The trackside grill will also be open during the card.
(with files from Buffalo)