Batavia, NY — The last of four Sunday matinee cards of racing was held at Batavia Downs on Aug. 16 and offered a stout slate of competition, with two top tier tilts headlining the 14-race program with winners heavily backed by the public.
A $13,500 Open Handicap trot was slotted in race 11 and resident diagonal-gaited specialist, El Toro Loco, collected the 30th career win for trainer Sam Smith, who registered a conditioning grand slam during the afternoon.
Kevin Cummings sent El Toro Loco to the point and then “The Crazy Bull” did the rest. With Valentine Express (Shawn Gray) drafting in the garden spot, El Toro Loco set middling fractions of :29.1, 1:00 and 1:29.1, yet still maintained a 1-3/4-length lead heading into turn four. At the top of the lane, Valentine Express was trotting sharply in his :28 flat final panel and made up the majority of the deficit. But he came up a head short at the line, where El Toro Loco hung on to win in 1:57.3.
It was the third win in the last six starts and sixth win of the year for El Toro Loco ($3.28), who is owned by Mike Torcello.
Other winners Smith sent to post included Fox Valley Cayman (1:55.4, $3.74), Cash Back (1:57, $11.00) and Seventier (1:57.4, $3.02), who rounded out his four-bagger.
There was also a $13,500 Open Handicap pace two races later where Lanjo Lee posted his 40th lifetime victory.
Kyle Cummings also sent Lanjo Lee forward off the gate and opened up a two-length lead at the :28.2 quarter. He then got to the half in :57.1 where Lip Reader A (Drew Monti) pulled first-over from third and joined the pocket-sitting Luck Is Up (Brett Macdonald) in pursuit of the leader. As the race approached three-quarters, Lip Reader A moved into second, but was still a length shy of Lanjo Lee. Lip Reader A continued to compete hard through the last turn but when they reached the stretch, Cummings tapped the gas and Lanjo Lee opened up a two-length gap and won in 1:54.
Lanjo Lee ($2.56) eclipsed $75,000 in earnings this year with the victory, now showing $75,096 in the bank for owner Gordon Swift. Tammy Cummings trains the winner.
Drivers Kevin Cummings and Shawn Gray posted three wins apiece during the proceedings on Sunday.
Live racing will resume at Batavia Downs on Wednesday (Aug. 19) at 5 p.m. and feature two divisions of New York Sire Stakes for 2-year-old pacing fillies who will compete for $104,000 in total purses.
Free full card past performance programs for every live card of racing at Batavia Downs can always be downloaded at the track’s website (bataviadownsgaming.com) under the “Live Racing” tab. And you can watch all the races live as they happen for free on the Batavia Downs YouTube page.