Hamburg, NY — There was nothing crazy about Just Plain Loco’s victory in Buffalo Raceway’s $15,500 Open Pace on Saturday night (May 13) as he used a workmanlike effort to beat Avion Seelster by a half length in a seasonal best 1:54.3 over a fast track.
Scoring from post four, Just Plain Loco (David McNeight III) had no issues reaching the top against five other rivals. After registering sensible fractions of :28.3, :58 and 1:27.1, Just Plain Loco ($4.50) had only Avion Seelster (Keith Kash Jr.) and Tony Too Tall (Kevin Cummings) to contend with in the drive to the wire. Just Plain Loco was just too steady down the stretch, not allowing either Avion Seelster or Tony Too Tall to make serious bids until the shadow of the line in a :27.2 last split.
Co-owned by Paul Lang and Mark Toth, the 7-year-old Just Plain Loco (Well Said-Symphony In Motion) is trained by Jennifer Giuliani. The win was his fourth in eight tries this season and increased his bankroll to $42,393 lifetime.
Sporty Deal ($8.00) lulled the field to sleep in the opening half mile of the $13,500 sub-featured pace, then was wide awake the rest of the way to notch his second consecutive victory, defeating Villiam in 1:57.1.
Trainer-driver Keith Kash Jr. set leisurely fractions with Sporty Deal as they went a pedestrian :31 to the opening panel and 1:00.4 to the half. But the tempo picked up after that as Sporty Deal used a back half of :56.1 — including a :28 last panel — to hold back the late-surging Villiam (Joseph Chindano Jr.) by a half length. Favorite Sportskeeper (Jim Morrill Jr.) was third.
The 5-year-old Sporty Deal (Sportswriter-Michelle’s Ideal) has now collected his third victory in eight attempts in 2023 for L’Emmur Stable LLC. The win upped his career earnings to $54,985.
Racing at Buffalo Raceway will resume on Wednesday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. with an 11-race program set. For more information, including the latest news, upcoming promotions, entries, results and race replays, go to www.buffaloraceway.com.