The Saturday (Oct. 26) edition of Racing Roundup features results stories from Batavia Downs, Vernon Downs, Hollywood Dayton Raceway, Saratoga Casino Hotel and The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono.

Black Is Back victorious in Batavia Open

Batavia, NY — It was a simple plan for Black Is Back. Take the lead, steal the half and cruise home for the win. And that’s exactly what he did in the $12,500 Open I Handicap pacing feature at Batavia Downs on Saturday night (Oct. 26).

Black Is Back was the better horse this night and hung on for the win by one length in 1:53.4. Paul White photo.

Black Is Back (Dave McNeight III) left unchallenged and set early fractions of :27.3 and :57 to the half. Down On My Luck (Drew Monti) was in the breeze first-over at that point and continued to gain ground on the leader up the backstretch and to the three-quarters.

As they headed around the far turn and into the stretch Down On My Luck was pacing hard and trying to make up the 1-1/2 length deficit, but Black Is Back was the better horse this night and hung on for the win by one length in 1:53.4.

It was the 10th win of the year for Black Is Back ($3.10) who has now earned $75,050 for owners Curtis Edholm and Mihajlo Zdjelar Sr. Mihajlo Zdjelar Jr. does the training.

The $11,000 Open II Handicap Pace saw I’m So Handsome (Denny Bucceri) leave from post one, slow the half to :58.2 and then come home in back-to-back :28.2 quarters to hold off a fast closing Sir Pugsley (Drew Monti) and win by a length in 1:55.

I’m So Handsome ($10.80) scored his sixth win of the year for owner Mike Torcello and trainer Gerry Sarama.

The $10,000 Open III pace turned an unexpectedly fast mile when Charmbo Orbit (Denny Bucceri) drafted third for a half before pulling first-over heading to the three-quarters to run down the leading Thisjetsabookin (Dave McNeight III) and hold off a late rush from Brunello N (Drew Monti) in the stretch to win by a neck in 1:53.4.

It was a new seasonal mark for Charmbo Orbit ($21.20) who is owned by Keith Pinkowski and trained by Mihajlo Zdjelar Jr.

Those back-to-back wins for Denny Bucceri were two of the three he won on the card, giving him a hat trick for the evening. Drew Monti also won three races on Saturday night.

With no Pick-5 winner on Saturday, there is a $1,381 carryover and a $5,000 guaranteed pool will be offered on the Pick-5 wager on Wednesday (Oct. 30) when live racing resumes at Batavia Downs at 5 p.m. The guaranteed pool is part of the United States Trotting Association’s Strategic Wagering program and as such, there will be free program pages for races one through five available on the USTA website starting on Sunday morning (Oct. 27).

— Tim Bojarski

Vernon Downs

Sometimes Said (John MacDonald) won the $6,000 featured pace on Saturday (Oct. 26). Sometimes Said ($5.40) went right to the front and flew to the first quarter in :25.4. He used a :29.1 second quarter to hit the half in :55. As they hit three-quarters in 1:23 his lead was three lengths. Sometimes Said, who is owned by Ken Weckstein and trained by Gary Messenger, found even another gear as the reached the stretch. Second place finisher Bay Rum (Howard Parker) made a late bid but never got close as Sometimes Said won in 1:52. Tempster Hanover (Justin Huckabone) was third best. Sometimes Said is an 8-year-old gelding by Well Said. It was his seventh win this season. He now has 22 career victories.
John MacDonald drove three winners on the night. He now leads all drivers with 116 wins. Howard Parker and Jimmy Whittemore are tied for second with 85 victories. Leon Bailey is forth with 46 tallies. Claude Huckabone Jr. and Claude Huckabone III are tied for fifth with 37 wins each. The trainer title is still undecided. John MacDonald leads with 49 training wins. Marissa Chadbourne is just three behind with 46 trips to the winner’s circle. Homer Hochstetler and Jennifer Lappe are tied for third with 35 wins a piece. Claude Huckabone III is fifth with 32 training victories. Vernon Downs returns to live racing on Friday (Nov. 1) and Saturday (Nov. 2). It will be closing weekend at the Miracle Mile for the 2019 season. Post time for both nights is 6:10 p.m. For more information go to www.vernondowns.com.

— John Horne

Hollywood Dayton Raceway

Hollywood Dayton Raceway paid homage to the memory of longtime area horseman Tom Horner Sr. on Saturday (Oct. 26) by naming the weekly Open Pace in his honor. Fittingly, the longest shot in the race came flying at the end to nail the victory. Feelinlikearockstar (Trevor Smith) was still sixth and last at the three-quarter station, but ready to swing three wide around the final bend. The 12-1 shot advanced to fifth by the head of the stretch but still had three lengths to make up on the pacesetters. Storming down the lane with a furious closing kick, Feelinlikearockstar collared Sports Sinner (Jeremy Smith) by a head and held off Hez A Dude A (Dan Noble) by a length in 1:52.2 over a rain-soaked surface. Perry Smith owns and trains the 7-year-old winner who now sports 25 career triumphs and $353,019 in earnings. Driver Dan Noble had the hottest hands on Saturday, winning five of the first 12 races—three of the victors from his own barn to pull into a tie with Virgil Morgan Jr. for leading trainer at the meet.

— Hollywood Dayton Raceway

Saratoga Casino Hotel

Bro (Rock N Roll Heaven) endured some difficult trips in the two legs of the Gary Kamal Memorial Pacing Series at Saratoga Casino Hotel. The Homer Hochstetler-trained pacer drew the rail in Saturday’s $35,200 Series final and the 3-year-old’s journey wound up being a bit smoother. Driver Jay Randall powered Bro out to the early lead in the final, getting the sophomore to the top in a :28.1 first quarter. After pacing the half in 57 seconds, Bro was confronted by the race’s favorite and series star Mister Miami (Claude Huckabone III) who had the daunting task of trying to reel-in his major danger via the first-over journey. The trip proved too difficult for the odds-on favorite Mister Miami as Bro dispatched him around the final turn. Pocket sitter SB Angelindisguise (Mark Beckwith) took his shot in the passing lane as two-leg winner Sweet Deisel (Dan Daley) shook loose in the stretch. Sweet Deisel came on to be second while SB Angelindisguise had to settle for third. For Bro, it was the second victory in a race with more than a $35,000 purse in the last six weeks as he scored in the New York Sire Stakes Consolation contested at Vernon Downs last month. Bro, who paid $6.00 to win and led an exacta and triple that returned $31 and $123, respectively, is owned by Jay Hochstetler and the Finkelburg Racing Stable. Randall’s win behind Bro was one of three on the night for the veteran reinsman. Bro adds his name to the list of previous winners of the Kamal Pace which consists of Twin B Spy, Bell I No, Stirling Electra, Carolina Beach and Kiwi Tintin N. Live racing continues on Sunday afternoon with a matinee starting at noon. There is a $1,134 carryover in the Pick-Five pool with the Pick-Five beginning in race one.

— Mike Sardella

The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono

Funknwaffles made a brush to the lead at the half, fought off pressure, then drew away to a 3-1/2 length victory in the $17,500 featured pace, tallying in 1:50.2. The American Ideal gelding won over Ourlittlegeneral A, who challenged the winner of $952,534 without cover down the backstretch, couldn’t get by him, but did hold for the deuce. Funknwaffles missed less than a length in this class last week from the post nine, and the move all the way in to the rail may have made the difference for the veteran, who is trained by Deborah Brunet for Crawford Farms Racing. George Napolitano Jr. drove Funknwaffles, one of four victories he had on the Saturday card at the mountain oval.