Batavia, NY — It was easy work for Machs Legacy A on Labor Day at Batavia Downs on Monday (Sept. 7) as he went gate to wire to post his third straight win after taking the featured $8,000 pace for fillies and mares.
Drew Monti pushed Machs Legacy A off the gate for the lead and stepped to the half in a modest :58.4, with Mcvera (Shawn Gray) in the pocket and no challengers from behind. That came during the third quarter when Tres Chic Bluechip (Kyle Cummings) moved first-over in the breeze and advanced to second in a very hastened :28 flat third quarter. Tres Chic Bluechip’s bid lasted around the far turn and into the stretch where Machs Legacy A exerted his dominance and paced away under a line drive to win by 1-½ lengths in 1:55.1.
It was the fifth win overall this year for the heavily backed Machs Legacy A ($2.64), who is owned by Tina Adamczyk and trained by Chris Petrelli.
Driver Shawn Gray was second in that race with Mcvera, but he also won five other races during the afternoon, including a walk-off grand slam in races eight through eleven. Gray won with Day To Party (1:55.1, $2.50), Giveitatry A (1:56, $3.62), Missys Magic Man (1:59.1, $2.38), Job Hunter (1:53.4, $5.24) and Cold Road Soda (1:57, $4.88), all who went off as post time favorites. Gray also registered a second and three thirds from his eleven starts, giving him a .596 UDR for the day.
A Batavia Downs tradition that goes back to 1977 is the annual Labor Day bicycle race and bike giveaway, where local drivers and trainers mount bicycles and dash down the stretch to claim bragging rights until next year, while eight lucky racing fans win the bikes used in the race.
On Sunday, 49 years after the very first group lined up behind the gate, a full field of eight including Candace Brandstatter-Hall, Brett Macdonald, Chase Russo, David Russo, Drew Monti, Jim McNeight Jr., Gareth Dowse and Kyle Cummings, put on another great race for the crowd. And the 2026 winner was David Russo, who left from post eight and broke away from the pack halfway down the lane for an easy win. It was Russo’s first start in this event and he indicated afterwards that “It was one and done” and he would be retiring undefeated.
The Batavia Downs driver/trainer bicycle race is sponsored by Lawley Insurance, Wendy J. Photography and Ortiz Home Services.
Live racing will resume at Batavia Downs on Wednesday (Sept. 9) at the regular post time of 5 p.m. and there will be a $2,139 carryover in the Jackpot Hi-5 pentafecta wager in the 11th race.
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.