Hamburg, NY — Lip Reader A and driver Drew Monti negotiated plenty of traffic around the three-quarter pole en route to victory in Buffalo Raceway’s $15,500 Open Pace on Saturday afternoon (March 21), defeating Lanjo Lee by a length in 1:54.3.
With a wide open betting board in the featured pace, it was expected to be that on the track. It was.
In the early going, Toreador GB parked Flag Party through splits of :28.2 and :56.2 with Livonjaxandqueens in the pocket. All seven participants were tightly bunched and in contention heading up the backstretch the final time, when Lip Reader A (Drew Monti) went three-wide to get out of a jam and into contention.
Lanjo Lee (Kyle Cummings) also managed to slip through at the top of the lane and made a valiant effort to try and collar Lip Reader A, but the 12-year-old son of Sportswriter had more than enough left in the tank to take the victory. All Bets On Tex (Brett MacDonald) finished third.
Lip Reader A, who scored his second win in three tries this season, is trained by Maria Rice for Vogel & Wags Nags and Team Rice Racing. He has produced $15,740 in earnings on the season and $354,367 lifetime, and he paid $8.04 to win.
In the $15,500 Open Trot, Dealin With Dewey (MacDonald) returned to his winning ways with an easy gate-to-wire win.
After a dull fifth-place effort in last week’s Open Trot, Dealin With Dewey wanted to make sure he was in control this time around. Immediately firing off the starting gate, Dealin With Dewey ($3.12) had no issues reaching the top.
After rating comfortable splits of :29, :59 and 1:28.2, Dealin With Dewey had no issues strolling to a 2-1/4-length victory over Crazy Ritz (James McNeight Jr.), stopping the timer in 1:57. Double Class (Kevin Cummings) took third.
Owned and trained by Sara Baillargeon, the 6-year-old son of Wheeling N Dealin has now won twice in seven starts this season. The victory jacked his seasonal earnings to $18,521 and to $370,851 in his career.
David McNeight III, Kevin Cummings and MacDonald all tripled on the program while Monti registered a double. Trainers Mihajlo Zdjelar Jr. and Rice each had two victories.
Racing will return on Wednesday (March 25) at 2:30 p.m. with a 10-race program scheduled.
For more information, including the latest news, upcoming promotions, entries, results and race replays, go to www.buffaloraceway.com.