Batavia, NY — The second leg of the Octoberfest Claiming Series was held at Batavia Downs on Wednesday (Oct. 14) with seven divisions of claiming pacers competing for $10,000 each.
Week one saw nine horses change hands for $7,500 each, and during week two, five more found new homes at the escalated price of $8,500. The last leg will be held on Wednesday (Oct. 21), and carry a claiming tag of $10,000 before the top eight point-earners go postward in the $22,500 final on Wednesday (Oct. 28).
There were only two repeat winners from week one and they were J B Gram and Sharky Bear, and both were headed for new stables after those wins as a result of being claimed.
J B Gram (Kevin Cummings) left from post two and led the entire mile. After stepping off quarters of :28.3, :58 and 1:26.4, J B Gram turned for home and kicked away by two lengths to win in 1:56 flat.
J B Gram ($2.94) was owned by Ben Ortiz and trained by Shawn McDonough.
Sharky Bear (Kevin Cummings) got away second behind Jojo’s Place (Brady Galliers), but quickly made his way to the front before the half and then stayed there for the duration. However Sharky Bear was under heavy duress to three-quarters with Pink Floyd Hanover (Drew Monti) and Motive Hanover (Joe Chindano Jr.) pushing two and three deep from there to the top of the stretch. Then Sharky Bear matched strides with Motive Hanover all the way to the wire, where he hung on to win by one-quarter length in 1:57.3.
Sharky Bear ($2.90) was owned by Super Mile and trained by Angelo Nappo.
J B Gram and Sharky Bear were only two of four wins for driver Kevin Cummings during the program, who finished the night with a grand slam that included a natural hat trick in races nine through 11. Cummings also won with Cash Back (1:55.2, $6.10), who was also in the claiming series, and Greystone Treasure (1:58.4, $6.06).
The $3,000 guaranteed pool and carryover for the Pick Five wager in the first race produced a handsome payout. The combination of 3/5/5/5/2 returned $2,578.60 for the 50-cent wager.
However the Jackpot Super High Five pentafecta in the 11th race was not hit and that carryover continues to grow, and now stands at $18,452. that will be available betting faithful in the 14th race on Saturday (October 17) night. Post time will be at 5 p.m. when live racing reconvenes that night at the oldest lighted harness track in North America, Batavia Downs.
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.