Hamburg, NY – “It was a nice year of racing,” Buffalo Raceway General Manager Jon Cramer said as he reflected back on the just completed 2026 live racing season.
“We had some new faces here this season along with regular horsepeople and they ran for some great purse money,” Cramer added. “The fans and horsemen enjoyed the season making it a successful meet.”
Cramer said looking ahead to 2027, “The biggest change coming next year is the elimination of the passing lane. We will open the live racing season in March of 2027.”
There were four track records either tied or broken during the season, and all came from trotters.
The 2-year-old gelding trotting record was equaled by Uncle Rob as Andy Miller steered him to a 2:00.3 victory on July 1.
The 3-year-old colt trotting mark was wiped away as Read The Room (Ake Svanstedt) cruised the mile in 1:55 on June 24.
Crazy Ritz beat the aged (5+) horse trotting standard with a 1:56.1 time on April 4 with James McNeight Jr. in the bike.
On June 27, Shine All The Way tied the aged (5+) gelding trotting mark as he buried it with a 1:56 clocking for David McNeight III.
On closing day, Buffalo Raceway handed out its year-end awards.
Infinity Stone (Il Sogno Dream-Magic Factory) took home the “Trotter of the Meet” award as he won eight times in 19 starts at Buffalo Raceway. His eight victories were the most among all horses this year as were his earnings ($57,720).
Owned by Caeleo Enterprises LLC of Eden, N.Y., and trained by David Russo, Infinity Stone also had two runner-up positions and two thirds. His seasonal best effort was 1:56.4.
The “Pacer of the Meet” went to Make My Deo, who is co-owned by Luis Ramirez of Anderson, Ind., and Frank Petrelli Jr. of Depew, N.Y.
Make My Deo (American Ideal-Electric Fool) is an 8-year-old gelding who is trained by Chris Petrelli. He was a model of consistency on the year as in 19 starts he produced six wins, seven place finishes and a third. In his last eight attempts, he was either first or second in seven of those. He was tied for the most wins with three other pacers, and his fastest time of the season was 1:55.4. Make My Deo earned $29,610 on the season.
Samuel Smith won his fourth consecutive training title at Buffalo Raceway and did it with his career best.
Smith collected 70 wins on the year and $593,825 in purse earnings, both career highs. In his past title runs, he had 49 victories in 2023, 62 in 2024 and 57 in 2025.
David Russo was second in the training race with 40 victories and Sheena Cohen third with 32.
There were 149 different trainers that had at least one start at Buffalo Raceway with 89 getting at least one win.
Drew Monti of Depew, N.Y., was the “million-dollar man” in collecting his second straight driving crown. The 31-year-old, who just recently hit 3,000 career wins, showed the way with a career high 137 victories at Buffalo Raceway and a UDR of .353, the best among the regular driver colony. Monti also went over the million-dollar mark for the first time at the Hamburg half-mile oval with $1,035,648 in purse earnings. He won the title last season with 119 victories.
Brett MacDonald took runner-up honors in the driver’s category with 114 trips to the winner’s circle and Kevin Cummings reached the century mark in victories with 100.
A total of 65 different drivers had at least one trip around the Hamburg half-mile oval, with 40 of them getting a victory.
All seasonal award winners will receive $100 to the Harness Tack Shop and a photo.
Post-time favorites hit at a 43.28 percent clip this season at Buffalo Raceway.
The inside had the most victories, with 177 coming from post 1 out of 714 races. The pylons hit the board in 2026 at 61.2 percent. Post 4 was next, with 127 victories, while the 8-hole collected just 11 wins.
Buffalo Raceway’s 2026 live racing season has now concluded and will return in March 2027.
For more information including race replays and more, go to www.buffaloraceway.com.