by Sam Pendolino, publicity director, Buffalo Raceway

Hamburg, NY — “Major Renovations” is the theme as Buffalo Raceway kicks off its 68th year of harness racing in Hamburg, N.Y., on Friday, January 15.

From the $250,000 spent to upgrade the track surface, to the complete overhaul in the clubhouse, where patrons will see new carpeting, new décor, and new self-serve betting machines, to the grandstand, which has a new floor and a fresh coat of paint all around, everyone will be pleasantly pleased with the new look.

“I’m very excited about opening day,” said C.O.O. Jim Mango. “From the minute we closed last year, all our energies have been used to improve the look of all our facilities.”

There is one major change in the schedule this year, as all night post times will be 6:40 p.m. The racing schedule is as follows: weekend racing for the first two weeks, Jan. 15-16 and Jan. 22-23. Wednesdays are added on Jan. 27 and the Wednesday-Friday-Saturday schedule will continue for the rest of the meet. Sundays, with a 1:05 p.m. post time, will begin on June 6. There will be 90 live racing days and the meet will end on Sunday, July 25.

Race secretary and announcer Robin Burns states that the nightly purse allocation will be about $60,000 per night, which is a nice increase over last year.

He said that former Western New York regular Don Rothfuss is planning on a 14-horse stable to start the season. Another newcomer to the Raceway this year will be trainer Lamar Moody, who was the leading trainer at Lebanon Raceway last year. He’s bringing his go to driver, Trent Tharps (Randy’s brother), to drive.

Ray Fisher, Jr. looks to repeat as top driver, as he narrowly edged out second place finisher Kevin Cummings 150-148 in wins last year. It was an entertaining battle which went down to the last day of racing. Cummings, however, won the Upstate Harness Writers Association Award, for top driver in WNY, with a spectacular Batavia meet.

There was also a close battle for leading trainer, as D.J. Millner (87) had four more winners than Sherri Holliday (83).

The Niatross Knockout Series and the Bret Hanover Series are back for 2010. The Niatross is for horses which have started for a base claiming price of $4,000 or less from June 1, 2009 to and including January 23, 2010. There are three legs, Feb. 6, 13 and 20, and a $10,000 final on Feb. 27. The Bret Hanover is for colts and geldings which have started for a base claiming price of $10,000 or less from June 1, 2009 to and including Feb. 20, 2010. Two legs will be contested, one on March 6 and the other on March 13, with a $12,500 final on March 20.

Before live racing returns, patrons new and old are cordially invited to a free betting seminar on Saturday, Jan. 9, at 7:00 p.m. Robin Burns will help you pick more winners this year. Call (716) 649-1280, extension 200, to reserve your seat. These seminars were highly successful last year and well attended.

If you would like reservations in the clubhouse, call (716) 646-6109, extension 60149. With all the construction currently in progress, management has asked that everyone use the South Park entrance upon arrival.

If you are not a member, don’t forget to join the Inside Track Club, for coupons on special giveaway days. Information at the program stand is available. There’s also plenty of information at our Web site, www.buffaloraceway.com.