Hamburg, NY — Franks Watching ($15.00) has taken his time in getting his 2022 campaign underway, and after witnessing his effort in Buffalo Raceway’s $15,000 Open Trot on Saturday afternoon (April 23), it was well worth the wait.

Franks Watching showed mid-season form in only his second start of 2022, rolling to an easy win in Saturday’s Open Trot at Buffalo. Bill Burke photo.

Making his seasonal debut last week with a solid-second place finish in the Open II-III Trot, Franks Watching (David McNeight III) looked to be in midseason form by wiring the field in 1:57.2 over a fast track. He easily turned aside Castyourcrown (Jim Morrill Jr.) by 1-3/4 lengths while CR Blazin Beauty (Kyle Cummings) finished third.

After putting 11 victories in the win column last season, Franks Watching used four qualifiers in March and April in preparation for making his debut last week.

Scoring from post four, Franks Watching took command early and set fractions of :30, :58.3 and 1:28.2. Turning for home, Castyourcrown and CR Blazin Beauty had every opportunity to try and track down Franks Watching, but those bids came up woefully short.

Owned by Mary Warriner and trained by Ryan Swift, Franks Watching recorded his first win in two appearances on the season. The Pilgrims Chuckie-Winning Blade gelding moved his seasonal bankroll to $10,325 and $93,922 lifetime.

The $14,000 Open I-II Handicap Pace saw Stop Action ($17.20) spring a 7-1 upset by beating Timeto Communicate by three-quarters of a length in 1:55. The victory gave McNeight a sweep of both featured events.

Stop Action got the perfect trip in the top pacing event. Sitting in the pocket following Timeto Communicate, who put up fractions of :29.4, :58.2 and 1:27, Stop Action tipped to the outside down the lane and cruised past the pacesetter, using a :28 final quarter to win. My Money Honey (Kyle Cummings) finished in third.

Owned by Super Mile LLC and trained by Angelo Nappo, the 5-year-old Somebeachsomewhere-The Show Returns gelding has now produced four victories in 11 tries on the year. The win upped his bankroll to $23,631 and $100,675 in his career.

Buffalo Raceway’s leading driver, Drew Monti, finished the day with five victories. Nappo had a pair of training wins.

Racing will continue on Wednesday afternoon (April 27) at 1:30 p.m. with an 11-race card set. There is a guaranteed pool of $5,000 in the Pick-5, which begins in the second race. For more information, including the latest news, upcoming promotions, entries, results and race replays, go to www.buffaloraceway.com.