Batavia, NY — There was a lot of excitement at Batavia Downs on Friday (Oct. 24) as something for everyone’s liking occurred during the night, including those who bet favorites and also the ones looking for the instant jackpot. Whereas seven favorites won during the 13-race card, there was also a $9,253.58 payout on a 20-cent wager in the nightcap event.
The featured race of the night was won by Brookview Darius, who tripped-out to capture the $10,000 Class AA trot.
Kyle Swift got away second with Brookview Darius behind Good Boy (Ray Fisher Jr.) and then sat there and drafted through fractions of :29.4, 1:02.1 and 1:31.4. At that last station, Good Boy was fighting off a bid from the heavily favored El Toro Loco (Kevin Cummings), who had recovered from a break behind the gate. Good Boy and “The Crazy Bull” continued to match strides around the last turn, but when they entered the stretch, Brookview Darius dipped into the passing lane, went right by Good Boy and El Toro Loco and then held off a late closing Starlitcresentroll (Dave McNeight III) to win by 1-1/4 lengths in 2:00.2, that included a snappy :28.2 final panel.
It was the eighth win of the year for Brookview Darius ($9.66), who is owned by Friendship Stables and trained by Sheena Cohen.
Driver Kyle Cummings and trainer Tammy Cummings collectively sent three horses to the winner’s enclosure on Friday night to lead their respective categories for the program. Much to the delight of the chalk bettors, the mother-son team won with Lyons Beachboy (1:57, $3.14), My One Percent (1:58.3, $2.96) and Always Choose Chip (1:59.1, $3.50).
But the win by Always Choose Chip also appeased those in search of a price payout as it was the top number of the winning Jackpot Super Hi-5 pentafecta in the 13th race. The single unique combination of 3-7-5-2-8 returned a big-bucks bonanza of $9,253.58 for a 20-cent wager.
Live racing resumes at Batavia Downs on Saturday (Oct. 25) 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.