Batavia, NY — A pair of $8,800 Class-A trots topped the card at Batavia Downs on Friday (Nov. 14) night and both races were won in gate to wire fashion with identical final clockings.
The first split went to Swantanamo Bay (Ray Fisher Jr.) who left from post one and cut quarters of :29, 1:00.1 and 1:30, while fending off a pesky Grinder (Joe Chindano Jr.), who was parked out for the event. As they made their way around the last turn, Swantanamo Bay began to separate from the field and eventually stretched out to a 2-3/4 length win in 1:59.1.
It was the third win in the last five starts for Swantanamo Bay ($5.30) who is owned by Gary Ballowe and Cassie Russo, who also trains the winner.
The second division went to Ruff Tuff Tested (James McNeight Jr.) who grabbed the point from post three and trotted unopposed through fractions of :29.2, 1:00 and 1:28.3 while the favored Quikslvr Bluechip (Kyle Swift) was pressing through the second and third quarters. When the race moved through turn four, Said And Done AS (Drew Monti) was on the outside and moved into second while applying more pressure on the leader. But that bid quickly failed and a renewed effort came from Quikslver Bluechip in the passing lane while a fast closing Whats The Point (Dave McNeight III) was barreling down the center of the track. But Ruff Tuff Tested turned them all away and hung on by a nose to win in 1:59.1.
It was the fifth win of the year for Ruff Tuff Tested ($15.44), who is owned by Michael Calimeri and trained by Jeffrey Martin.
Joe Chindano Jr. had four driving wins on Friday, but Shawn McDonough had a total of five combined wins broken down as two at the lines and three as a trainer.
Live racing resumes at Batavia Downs on Saturday (Nov. 15) with post time at 6:00 p.m.
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.