Batavia, NY — A pair of $12,500 Opens were featured at Batavia Downs on Saturday (Nov. 29) night and both winners came from off the pace to take the top prize.
In the Open Handicap trot, Crazy Ritz made a first-over move that paid big dividends.
Crazy Ritz (Jim McNeight Jr.) got away fifth as Golden Compass (Dave McNeight III) took the lead at the :27.4 quarter with Brookview Darius (Kyle Swift) parked outside to his right and pushing the half to a :57.1 split. Crazy Ritz was now out and rolling as they moved into turn three, and Valentine Express (Joe Chindano Jr.) and Gone Crazee (Drew Monti) followed intently in the breeze.
As the race approached three-quarters, Golden Compass and Brookview Darius were gassed, forcing Crazy Ritz and Valentine Express to go three-wide around as they passed three-quarters in 1:26.4. Crazy Ritz now had a stranglehold on the lead with Valentine Express trying to keep pace around the last turn. That attempt was futile as Crazy Ritz turned for home and trotted confidently to the line on top by 1-½ lengths in 1:56 flat.
It was the second straight Open victory for Crazy Ritz ($3.62) who is owned by James Palladino and trained by Jeff Martin.
Then in the Open pace, Davey Day Trader turned a perfect pocket trip into a narrow, hard fought-victory. victory
Villiam (Joe Chindano Jr.) took the lead as Davey Day Trader (Dave McNeight III) slid into the garden spot for the journey. Villiam set fractions of :29, :59.1 and 1:27.2, as Livonjaxandqueens (Denny Bucceri) was a close second in the breeze for that third panel. Positions remained unchanged around through the final bend and into the stretch where Davey Day Trader dipped down into the pylon path and brushed smartly to deep stretch and won by a head in the shadow of the wire in 1:55, that included a stellar :55.2 back half.
It was the 11th win of the year for Davey Day Trader ($8.00) who is owned by James Costa and Peter Kibler and trained by Dave McNeight Jr.
Driver Kyle Cummings had a grand slam in the bike on Saturday. Cummings won with Avion Seelster (1:56.3, $5.68), My One Percent (1:57.3, $3.16), Lanjo Lee (1:55.3, $2.78) and Major Battle (1:58.2, $6.14).
There was a major upset in the nightcap race of the evening when 60-1 shot Venier Hanover (Kyle Swift) collared the front-running Stop Action (Joe Chindano Jr.) right at the line and paid $123.70, $55.32 and $18.42 across the board, each for a $2 wager. It was the 63rd career win for Venier Hanover, who is owned and trained by Sheena Cohen.
Trainers Sheena Cohen, Sam Smith and David Russo were the top conditioners on Saturday with each scoring a pair of wins during the proceedings.
Live racing resumes at Batavia Downs on Wednesday (Dec. 3) 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.