by Sam Pendolino, publicity director, Buffalo Raceway

Hamburg, NY — In the featured $10,000 tenth race trot on Friday (June 29) at Buffalo Raceway, Speed Pilot and reinsman John Cummings, Jr. weaved their way through traffic in the stretch and won in 1:59 at odds of 30-1.

Harnessracephotos.com – Paul White

Speed Pilot was an upset winner in the Buffalo feature.

Owned by Francis Rapone, and Thomas, Betty Lou, and Christopher Buckley, it was the third win of the year for the six-year-old gelded son of CR Aviator.

“I really had a great trip,” said Cummings. “I almost lost him (breaking) in the second turn, but luckily he held together.”

Leaving from post four in the field of seven, Speed Pilot and Cummings settled in third as eventual third place finishers Gamesmanship and driver Ken Holliday set all the fractions in the race, :29.1, :58.2, and 1:29.

As the field hit the top of the stretch, Speed Pilot had three horses in front of him, but a seam opened up in mid-stretch and Cummings and Speed Pilot slid through for the victory. A half length behind in second was Cade Callihan and driver Jim Morrill, Jr.

The $5,000 share of the winning purse boosted Speed Pilot’s 2007 earnings to $17,555 and $85,017 lifetime. The winner paid $63.00 to win, going off as the longest shot on the board. Louis Rapone, Jr. is the trainer.

Racing will resume on Saturday, June 30, with first post scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Sunday racing starts next week, July 1, with first post scheduled for 1:05 p.m.

Fans may enjoy fine food and drinks while playing their favorite horses: call the clubhouse reservation line at (716) 646-6109, ext. 60149 to reserve a table. An operator will be available on Monday from 9:00 a.m. until 5:30 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday from 9:30 a.m. until 6:00 p.m.