by harness racing publicists across North America

Friday night’s (Aug. 19) edition of Racing Roundup features results stories from Batavia Downs, Tioga Downs and Vernon Downs.

Bombs away in the top trot at Batavaia

Batavia, NY — There were two mares against the boys in the $10,000 Open trotting feature at Batavia Downs on Friday night (Aug. 19) and girl spower prevailed as Serendipitous, who was overlooked at 9-1, pulled out a wire-to-wire victory in a lifetime best time of 1:57.1.

Paul White photo

Serendipitous beats the boys at Batavia Downs.

Weekly leaver Lutetium (Todd Cummings) made a break off the gate which handed Serendipitous (Ray Fisher Jr.) the lead and with it, the mare took the field in post-position order to the half in :57.3. At the five-eighths, Noble Legend (Kevin Cummings) pulled first over and brought heavily favored J A T O (Mike Caprio) in tow and the pair motored up towards the front.

That outer flow chased the leader to the three-quarter station in 1:27.1 without gaining much ground when J A T O pulled three-wide in the last turn and started his solo assault. But when he actually drifted five-wide in the move, Serendipitous was able to maintain her lead in mid-stretch and fend off the pocket-sitting Winky’s Pride as well as the late rush by J A T O to win by a neck.

Winky’s Pride (Drew Monti), who was the other mare in the race, finished second and J A T O settled for third.
It was the sixth victory of the year for Serendipitous ($21.80) and the winner’s share of the purse padded her bank account to the tune of $33,267 for Guy Polillo Est. and trainer John Mungillo.

The secondary feature carded as the $8,500 Open II saw Kahoku ($7.70) avoid some early road trouble and go wire-to-wire in a fast 1:56.3 for driver Ron Beback Jr. The 8-year-old gelded son of SJ’s Caviar is trained by Mark Laidlaw for owners Colleen Girdlestone and Michael Gentner.

Batavia Downs leading dash driver Kevin Cummings had a driving triple on the night while Drew Monti doubled up.

Racing resumes at Batavia Downs on Saturday night (Aug. 20) with the first post set for 6:15 p.m. Saturday’s card features the NYSS 2-year-old pacing fillies going for $110,200 in the fourth race on the card.

Tioga Downs

Saratoga invader So Nice ($7.30) led a driving hat trick for Mike Merton on Friday (Aug. 19) evening’s 11-race card at Tioga Downs, holding off all comers in the co-featured $13,000 Mares Open I Pace. The 6-year-old Ponder mare sprinted clear authoritatively from post 6 before reaching the first turn before controlling terms through early splits of :28 and :56.3. Up the far side, So Nice was forced to accelerate by 1-2 favorite Stacia Hanover (Mike Simons), whose first-over pressure prompted a :26.4 third quarter. So Nice withstood the challenge in kind, edging away at head-stretch and holding off a late bid from Heart Major (Jim Meittinis), who lunged from the pocket to just miss. So Nice prevailed by a neck over Heart Major in 1:51.3, while Shutthefrontdoor (Scott Coulter) rallied off stalling cover to save third. Amber Buter trains 22-time winner So Nice for the Gene Oldford Farms, LLC, Steve Oldford, and Tyler Buter. Merton also prevailed with Brandos Muscle Man ($4.30, 1:56.2) and Lisa On Top ($17.80, 2:00.1). The $13,000 Open 1 Trot saw Prairie Fortune ($6.60) rally off cover to capture his fifth win in seven tries, drafting behind Its Payday Friday before vaulting three-wide at head-stretch and lifting to collar Swishnflick in 1:55. Jim Meittinis drove the 4-year-old Arapa Victory gelding for Mike Deters–who trains the 22-time winner–and Laurie Poulin. A pair of Italian American Friendship Series events for amateur drivers were contested early on the card, and Otello Zorzetto swept them both. Zorzetto posted a gate-to-wire win with Gary Messenger trainee Superiorcourt ($5.30) in 1:58.2, and used more patient tactics to prevail with Surge Seelster ($5.60) in 1:55.3 for trainer Stacey McLenaghan. Live racing returns to Tioga Downs on Saturday (Aug. 20) evening, with post time slated for 6:30 p.m. Eastern.

Vernon Downs

Fresh off a track-record performance at Tioga Downs in last week’s Geers Stakes, Cougar Bait ($5.00, part of entry) proved dominant in Friday (Aug. 19) evening’s lone $10,000 Kindergarten Classic preliminary for 2-year-old pacing colts and geldings, carded as race two at Vernon Downs. Marcus Miller brushed the Western Terror-No One Is Alone gelding to the fore after a :27.2 first quarter before rating a :57.3 middle half. Upon turning for home, Cougar Bait felt mild pressure from 3-5 favorite Lindythefourteenth (Scott Zeron), edging clear easily off the corner-Lindythefourteenth broke stride only after he began to regress. Meanwhile, Cougar Bait drew off by 4-3/4 lengths over his stablemate Harry Terror (Andy McCarthy), who rallied belatedly to take second from Manattack (Chris Lems). The 1:51.4 mile time gave Cougar Bait a new lifetime mark in his third consecutive win. John Butenschoen trains Cougar Bait for the Harmony Oaks Racing Stable, Inc., Jeremey Day, Tangie Massey, and the VIP Internet Stable, LLC. Miller scored a stakes double at the Miracle Mile, making gradual gains with Ameraway ($3.90, part of entry) through the stretch en route to a 1:53 win over Well What’s New (Zeron) and V String (McCarthy) in the tenth event, a Kindergarten preliminary for pacing fillies. Trainer Erv Miller co-owns the daughter of American Ideal and Shyaway with Paymaq Racing, the aforementioned Tangie Massey, and Neil Cumsky. The earlier Kindergarten split for fillies, carded as race six, saw Caviart Ally ($3.80, part of entry) make all the pace and accelerate through the far turn for a 1:53.2 score over pocket rival Someonesomewhere (Miller) and the belatedly-gaining Jenny’s Terror (Fern Paquet, Jr.). Andy McCarthy drove the daughter of Bettor’s Delight and Allamerican Cool for trainer Noel Daley and owner Caviart Farms. Live racing returns to Vernon Downs on Saturday (Aug. 20) evening; post time is set for 6:45 p.m. Eastern.