Batavia, NY — The rain continued at Batavia Downs on Saturday (Nov. 14) but that didn’t prevent Dave McNeight III from winning five races on the program, including the co-featured $14,800 Open Handicap pace with Luck Is Up.
McNeight left with Luck Is Up and set up shop on the point before leading by 1-1/4 lengths through quarters of :28.3, :58.3 and 1:26.4 without any pressure whatsoever from behind. Luck Is Up continued to dominate by that margin around the far turn and into the stretch, where he bolted home by 3-3/4 lengths in 1:56.
It was the ninth win of the year for Luck Is Up for owners Caeleo Enterprises and Brad Conschafter. Dave Russo trains the winner, who paid $13.68.
McNeight III also won with Moved Bythe Spirit (1:56, $13.12), Miki Minaj (1:57.3, $36.58), Intrepid Ivy (1:58.3, $13.36) and Daylight Rush (1:59.4, $2.50).
The other co-feature was the $14,800 Open Handicap trot, where El Toro Loco (Kevin Cummings) flew off the wings to the lead as Treasured Tee (Drew Monti) sat the pocket trip. El Toro Loco went :28 and 1:00.1 splits before Civilian Drone (Ray Fisher Jr.) moved first-over on the outside in chase.
As they reached three-quarters, Civilian Drone pulled alongside Treasure Tee, but he couldn’t reach El Toro Loco, who sped off to a 1-3/4-length advantage in the turn, which he extended to 2-1/2 at the top of the stretch. From there, El Toro Loco got home first, easily under wraps in 2:00.1.
The ninth win of the year for El Toro Loco pushed his earnings over the century mark for 2026, now showing $100,195 in the bank for owner Mike Torcello. Alex Giuliani trains the winner, who paid $7.52.
Kevin Cummings also had a big night in the bike, winning a total of four races and just missing a fifth in the final race of the night that was won by McNeight III, that gave him his fifth score of the night.
Trainers Bradley Jackson, Kristen Torre, Dave Russo and Shawn McDonough all had two wins apiece. McDonough also had two driving wins, giving him a total of four visits to the winner’s enclosure.
Live racing will resume at Batavia Downs on Wednesday (Nov. 18) at 5 p.m. (EST) and there will be a $2,641 carryover in Pick-5 wager in the first race with a guaranteed pool of $7,500 through the U.S. Trotting Association’s Strategic Wagering Program. There will also be a $35,171 carryover in the Jackpot Super High-5 pentafecta wager in the 13th race.
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.