Hamburg, NY — Davey Day Trader ($28.78) used a big move down the long Buffalo Raceway homestretch on Saturday afternoon (July 11) to spring an upset over Lip Reader A in the $14,700 Open Pace in a seasonal best 1:54.2.
After two straight wins in front-running style from the rail, the pylon-sitting Lip Reader A (Drew Monti) was heavily favored for a repeat effort. It all started out perfectly for him as controlled the front end with fractions of :29, :57.3 and 1:26.2.
But things were about to change heading around the final turn. Davey Day Trader followed live cover from I Aint No Mack and swung three-wide down the stretch. While Lip Reader A looked strong, Davey Day Trader (Shawn T. Gray) had just too much momentum and used a :27.3 final panel to win by a neck. Lip Reader A was second while Woodmere Rollnpop took the show spot.
Co-owned by James Costa and Peter Kibler, Davey Day Trader (Huntsville-Gigi Deo) is trained by David McNeight Jr. The win was the sixth in 18 appearances this season for Davey Day Trader, who pushed his seasonal earnings to $46,821 and to $230,433 lifetime.
The $14,700 co-featured Open Trot wasn’t nearly as dramatic as El Toro Loco ($5.40), after three consecutive top-three finishes, finally completed the task at hand with a front-stepping half-length decision over Crazy Ritz in 1:57.4.
Getting involved in a three-way battle for the lead with Crazy Ritz (James McNeight Jr.) and Starlitcresentroll (Wade Tomaszewski), El Toro Loco (Kevin Cummings) managed to gain control of the lead with splits of :28.2, :59.1 and 1:29.
In the drive to the wire, El Toro Loco kept his grip on the lead as Crazy Ritz battled to the wire but came up a half length short. Starlitcresentroll saved third place.
It was the fourth victory in 14 starts on the season for El Toro Loco (Walner-Southwind Cabaret), who is owned by Michael Torcello and trained by Samuel Smith. The win jacked his 2026 bankroll to $49,189 and to $365,418 in his career.
Gray completed the afternoon with a triple while Cummings and Monti had two wins each.
The final week of live racing for the 2026 season at Buffalo Raceway begins on Wednesday (July 15) at 2:30 p.m. with a 13-race card scheduled. The New York Sire Stakes makes its final stop of the campaign at the Hamburg half-mile oval as 2-year-old filly trotters collide in a pair of (approx.) $55,000 races each. The program will open with two $20,000 events in the Excelsior Series.
For more information, including the latest news, upcoming promotions, entries, results and race replays, go to www.buffaloraceway.com.