Hamburg, NY — After four consecutive starts from the rail in Buffalo Raceway’s $15,500 Open Trot with no victories, J-s Hopscotch ($11.40) got another kick at the can from the pylons and this time he was finally successful with a head decision over Batting Stats in 1:58.0 over the fast track on Friday afternoon (June 2).

Despite a pair of second place finishes in his past four outings from the rail, J-s Hopscotch (Kyle Cummings) just hasn’t been able to get over the hump. But this time, a perfect ground saving journey and a slot in the passing lane allowed J-s Hopscotch to register the win.

Pylons pay off at last for J-s Hopscotch this afternoon in the feature at Buffalo Raceway. Bill Burke photo.

It was an action packed event with the eventual tempo setting Batting Stats having a three-wide battle with Castyourcrown and Deswanslittleorie for early supremacy. The opening quarter went in a robust :28.1 and Batting Stats (Jim Morrill Jr.) was still in control with middle fractions of :58.1 and 1:28.0. But things were about to get exciting and wild down the long home stretch.

Batting Stats showed the way down the lane but J-s Hopscotch and Castyourcrown (David McNeight III) made the moves on the inside while Deswanslittlelorie (Joseph Chindano Jr.) and Kandy Sweet (Keith Kash Jr.) were making solid bids on the outside. When the dust settled and the photo posted, J-s Hopscotch was a head in front with Batting Stats finishing in second and Castyourcrown third. The top five finishers were within 1-1/4 lengths at the finish line.

Owned by Rags To Riches of PA LLC, the 5-year-old J-s Hopscotch (Mr Web Page-Better Than Dreams) is trained by Tammy Cummings. It was his five victories in 19 tries on the campaign and jacked his bankroll to $43,277 on the season and $136,517 lifetime.

Mugshots Bro got his ‘mugshot’ taken in the winner’s circle after registering the victory in the $11,500 trot in a seasonal best of 1:58.3.

Mugshots Bro picked up a victory in the co-feature today while posting a seasonal best of 1:58.3. Bill Burke photo.

Driven by Chindano Jr., Mugshots Bro ($3.80) sat patiently in third place as he watched Bacardi put up times of :29.1 and :59.3 through the opening half. Moving first over approaching the three quarter, Mugshots Bro zoomed around Bacardi (Kevin Cummings) around the final turn and easily trotted away from Bacardi by 2-1/4 lengths. Dynamic Edge (Shawn McDonough) took the third place position.

Co-owned by Herman Niedhammer and Herman Niedhammer Jr., it was the second win in eight starts for the 11-year-old Mugshots Bro (Jailhouse Jesse-Photo Emmy). The victory jumped his 2023 earnings to $17,505 and $347,735 in his career.

Kevin Cummings and Chindano Jr. finished the afternoon with driving triples.

Racing will resume on Saturday (June 3) evening beginning at 6:00 p.m. with a 13-race program scheduled. There is a $700 carryover in the Pick-5 which begins in the second race.

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