Batavia, NY – Batavia Downs programmed two $12,500 Opens on Saturday (Nov. 1) night and both saw double-digit longshots win under the guidance of driver Kevin Cummings, in finishes so close that the second victory was a dead-heat with another Cummings, namely Kyle, driving a mutuel outsider.
In the Open Handicap trot, despite finishing 2-1-3 in his last three starts, Double Class was sent off at 42-1 and filled the punters with regret after he got the job done and blew up the tote board.
Double Class (Kevin Cummings) got away sixth as Latavius (Dave McNeight III) took the lead passing the :28.1 quarter and then scooted to the half in :59.2. It was there that Cummings tipped Double Class first-over from mid-pack and started the march toward the leader.
Double Class incrementally gained ground on Latavius up the backstretch and then matched strides with him around the last turn. When they entered the stretch, Double Class continued to dig and eventually moved past Latavius just before the light, while holding off a fast-closing Dougadougadew at the line to win by a head in 1:57.2.
It was the seventh win of the year for Double Class ($86.80), who is owned by James Clouser Jr. and trained by Ron Beback Jr.
Then in the Open Handicap pace, even a photo couldn’t separate Stranger Things (15-1) and Lanjo Lee (43-1) as they broke the beam together in a thrilling blanket finish.
Stranger Things (Kevin Cumming) got away sixth while Lanjo Lee (Kyle Cummings) left and tucked in second behind Lip Reader A (Drew Monti), who cut fractions of :28.1 and :58 to the half. As the race moved onto the second circuit, an outer flow formed led by Villiam (Joe Chindano Jr.), who was followed by Stranger Things as they passed three-quarters in 1:26.
The field was still in two rows and bunched around the last turn and when they turned for home, horses were coming from everywhere. Lip Reader A still had the lead, but Lanjo Lee moved inside of him while Stranger Things tipped three-deep. Villiam was still in play and the group was joined by Be Dazzled Lou A (Dave McNeight III) and Lyon’s Surfing (Kyle Swift). The pack of six drew almost even as they paced to the wire, where the half-dozen was separated by a total of only half a length, with Stranger Things and Lanjo Lee getting there first by a head in 1:54.1.
It was the 10th win of the year and 50th career victory for Stranger Things ($17.02), who is owned by Kathy Schoeffel and James Reuther and trained by Angelo Nappo.
It was also the eighth win of the year for Lanjo Lee ($43.44), who is owned by Gordon Swift and trained by Jeff Sorenson.
Besides winning both features, Kevin Cummings also won with Soul Assassin (1:54.4, $3.30) and Nautical Hanover (1:56, $2.44) to finish the night with a grand slam.
Wins continued to be hard to come by for stables racing at Batavia this meet as 12 different trainers once again each won one race on the card.
Live racing resumes at Batavia Downs on Wednesday (Nov. 5) with post time at 6 p.m. and there will be a $1,393 carryover in the Jackpot Super Hi-5 pentafecta wager in the 12th race.
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. Then you can watch all the races live as they happen for free on the Batavia Downs YouTube page.