Batavia, NY – Batavia Downs will host the New York Sire Stakes on Saturday (Aug. 23), when 3-year-old trotters of both genders will line up in three divisions valued at $236,700 and headline a stellar card of late summer racing that offers a total of $488,300 in purses.
The sophomore colts and geldings are separated into two short fields for a total purse of $114,900.
In the $56,900 split, Variegated (Chapter Seven-White Cheetah) comes in favored and boasts a very impressive resume.
Variegated was the NYSS 2-year-old male trotting champion last year and has only gotten better at 3. Aside from being undefeated in his two NYSS starts, he has also competed against the best the Grand Circuit has to offer. He won the Battle of Bunker Hill Trot at Plainridge, finished second in the Empire Breeders Classic at Vernon and the Yonkers Trot, and then just missed qualifying for the Hambletonian after finishing a close fifth in his elimination. In his last start he simply jogged by 6-3/4 lengths in 1:54.2 in a NYSS event at Saratoga.
Those efforts put $223,075 in his coffers and make him the fifth richest trotting male and eighth richest trotter overall among 3-year-olds in North America this year.
Trainer Marcus Melander has assigned Jason Bartlett to drive Variegated, and they have drawn post four on the gate.
Happy Jack B (Chapter Seven-Exotic Form) is coming into this race at the top of his form this year, with his last four starts on the Grand Circuit. He finished a close third in the Yonkers Trot behind Super Chapter, won the Muscle Hill Trot at The Meadowlands in a lifetime-best 1:52 and then just missed by one-half length in the Earl Beal Jr. Consolation I at Pocono in 1:52.2.
Matt Kakaley will drive Happy Jack B from post two for trainer Ake Svanstedt.
The other $58,000 division looks to be a more wide open affair, with three horses very much a factor.
Seven Layer (Chapter Seven-Coffeecake Hanover) is the points (124) and earnings ($133,131) leader of this group and has not finished worse than third in his five NYSS starts. His $144,868 in purses this year is the highest in this race and he comes in fresh off a 1:57.3 NYSS win at Saratoga.
Karinchak (Chapter Seven-Sianna Hanover) can be erratic at times, but when he’s on his game, he’s fast. A three-time winner this year, Karinchak took his mark of 1:53.2 at Pocono while winning the final of the Weiss Series. And he just finished second behind Variegated in his last NYSS outing at Saratoga.
Fadeaway Hanover (Chapter Seven-Fad Finance) has a win and a third in NYSS action this year, but he has also faced Grand Circuit competition at Woodbine, where he finished third in a Goodtimes Stakes elimination behind Emoticon Legacy. After taking a 1:53 lifetime mark at Woodbine in an overnight race, Lasix was added and Fadeaway Hanover has since won again in 1:53.1 with a :27-flat kicker and finished third, beaten only a length, in a NYSS race at Saratoga.
Seven Layer has Niko Karna up for Noel Daley from post two, Karinchak has Mark MacDonald in the bike for a pylon start for Ray Schnittker, and Fadeaway Hanover will be steered by Jim Morrill Jr. from post three for Sara Baillargeon.
The second-year fillies will line up in one field for a purse of $121,800 and My Debt Collecter (Chapter Seven-Magic Presto) looks to pay the bills with the bulk of that offering.
After coming off a season where she made just shy of a quarter-million dollars, My Debt Collecter came back and has already outperformed her career totals across the board. She has won five out of her six NYSS starts, lowered her lifetime mark to 1:54.3 and amassed $283,872 in purses. That total currently places her as the third richest 3-year-old female trotter and sixth richest 3-year-old trotter overall in North America. My Debt Collecter is also the points (262) and earnings ($223,235) leader among all second-year NYSS female trotters by a large margin.
My Debt Collecter had a three-week break that started in July and qualified back strong on Aug. 5 at Harrah’s Philly. She has since won a NYSS race at Yonkers and comes into this race fresh and ready to roll.
Nifty Norman has Tyler Buter aboard once again and My Debt Collecter will start from post five.
Looking to upset the favorite are Calculus Risk (Devious Man-K Squared Hanover) and Chapvious (Devious Man-Chaperess), who finished second and third, respectively, to My Debt Collecter last week by less than a length. Both trotters have been very consistent this year but are both prone to sporadic breaks. If on their game, both are capable of getting the job done.
Calculus Risk has Jeff Gregory aboard for Perry Simser from post four and Chapvious has drawn pylon position for Jason Bartlett and George Ducharme.
The New York Sire Stakes events are carded as races seven, nine and 11. There are also three $20,000 Excelsior Series trots on the card. Plus, Batavia Downs’ signature event, the $100,000 Robert J. Kane Memorial Invitational Pace, is also on the program. Post time for the first race is 6 p.m. (EDT).
Free full card past performance programs for every live card of racing at Batavia can always be downloaded at The Downs’ website (bataviadownsgaming.com) under the “Live Racing” tab.
And all the racing action can be viewed as it happens at bataviabets.com when you open an account, which can be done quickly and easily online.