Batavia, NY— The New York Sire Stakes will visit Batavia Downs for the sixth time this year on Saturday night (Aug. 22) and will feature nine 3-year-old pacing colts and geldings who will start for their share of $114,900 in total purses. The group will compete in two fields, with one being a non-betting event before the first regular race of the night.
The main event will be race 6 and go for $58,000 with three pacers so close in recent résumé, it’s hard to separate them when you break down the race.
Knoxville (Huntsville-Let’s Fall In Love) is the second highest points (170) and purse ($192,820) earner among all NYSS 3-year-old pacing males behind only Fragment, who is not competing this week. Knoxville has only missed the board one time this year in his 10 starts with four wins, three seconds and two thirds, that have helped him amass those earnings. Knoxville took his lifetime mark at Vernon Downs in June when he won in 1:50.3 in a NYSS race, and he finished second in that same time at Tioga Downs while chasing Fragment in his 1:49.3 win.
Knoxville has drawn the pylon position to start here and will have Matt Kakaley onboard for trainer Ray Schnittker.
Aries Blue Chip (American Ideal-Fox Valley Shaker) has been on an absolute tear since June, with four wins in six starts with a second and a third, but is stepping up to the major league for the first time after competing in the Excelsior Series. There he won two straight races, one in 1:50.3 at Tioga Downs, and finished second by a neck in that same class at Yonkers, race timed in 1:51.3. Although he will make his first NYSS start here, he certainly looks like he is more than capable of winning.
Aries Blue Chip starts from post 2 for trainer Deborah Daguet, who has assigned Leon Bailey for the trip.
Hunting Glory (Huntsville-Southwind Prima) got off to a bit of a slow start this year but has really rounded into form recently. He just won his first NYSS race last week at Yonkers, where he tripped-out to an impressive 1:52 victory over the half-mile track while beating Knoxville, who cut the mile. If he comes back to that mile, he will be a player for top honors here.
Hunting Glory has post 3 and trainer Robert Cleary has put Ridge Warren in control for the mile.
The second group is the non-betting event, and it will go for a $56,900 purse.
Unraced at age 2, Cooperstown Boy (Huntsville-Twinsburg) has one NYSS win that came in his last outing at Yonkers, where he scored in 1:52.2 while beating Fragment. He won two starts before that in Excelsior action at Tioga with a 1:51.4 lifetime best effort. He’s got three wins and two seconds in his last five starts and just seems to be hitting his stride at the right time of the year. He will be formidable in this contest.
Cooperstown Boy has drawn post 3 and trainer Jared Bakos has tapped Colin Kelly to drive.
Unmatched Wisdom (American Ideal-Above Average) is a seven-time winner in 2026, including six in a row to start his year. But only one of those came in NYSS action. That was an impressive 1:52.1 win in the mud at Saratoga in May, setting a lifetime mark. Since then, he has one win in Excelsior action, at Goshen Historic Track in 1:54.4, and three more NYSS starts that only produced one third.
Unmatched Wisdom is trained by Chuck Connor Jr. and will be driven by Leon Bailey from post 4.
There is also a $20,000 Excelsior Series event on the card, programmed as race 7.
Post time for the first race at Batavia Downs on Saturday is 5 p.m. (EDT).