Hamburg, NY — The rail and driver David McNeight III made for a perfect combination in the featured trotting events at Buffalo Raceway on Friday afternoon (June 9).

McNeight took Fireinsidemyveins ($3.20) to a gate-to-wire victory in the $15,500 Open Trot in a seasonal 1:56.4, while, earlier on the program, he drove Con Air Hall ($5.80) to a 1:58.4 tour in the $10,800 Open II Trot. But what made the victory in the Open extra special for McNeight was the win put the 33-year-old over $10 million in career purse earnings.

In the Open, Fireinsidemyveins set the tempo by putting up splits of :29 and :58.2 over the first half mile while parking Alan. No longer having to deal with the pesky Alan on the second circuit, Fireinsidemyveins braced for a challenge from Mugshots Bro (Kevin Cummings), who was three-wide with a panel to go. That threat fizzled out, however, and Fireinsidemyveins used a :28.2 final quarter to dispose of Mugshots Bro by 3-1/4 lengths while Franks Watching (Ray Fisher Jr.) took third.

With victory in Friday’s Open Trot at Buffalo Raceway, Fireinsidemyveins pushed driver David McNeight III over $10 million in career purse earnings. Bill Burke photo.

Owned by Gary Lance and conditioned by James Clouser Jr., the 4-year-old Fireinsidemyveins notched his second victory in 10 starts this year for the 4-year-old Fireinsidemyveins. The win moved his 2023 bankroll to $34,600 and $110,810 in his career.

Con Air Hall ($5.80) led every step of the way in the Open II, turning back Lougazi by 2-1/4 lengths while J-S Swanman was third.

Scoring from the pylons, Con Air Hall didn’t let the great post position go to waste. Firing right off the starting gate, Con Air Hall showed the way with reasonable fractions of :29.2, 1:00 and 1:29.3. Heading for home, there was a wall of contenders behind Con Air Hall, but no one could make any headway approaching the wire.

Owned by Ron Viele and trained by Jennifer Giuliani, the 10-year-old Con Air Hall scored his fourth victory in 17 starts on the season. The win pushed his seasonal winnings to $29,429 and $335,639 lifetime.

Joseph Chindano Jr. completed the card with a driving triple while McNeight, Kevin Cummings and Morrill all doubled. Clouser and Giuliani had two training victories apiece.

Racing will continue on Saturday (June 10) at 6 p.m. with 11 races to be presented.

For more information, including the latest news, upcoming promotions, entries, results and race replays, go to www.buffaloraceway.com.