Batavia, NY — The $13,000 final of the Batavia Downs Winter Series trot was held Tuesday (Feb. 3), and Tulsa Bell kept her winning streak alive as she took the title in fine fashion.
Andy Over (Ray Fisher Jr.) gained an early lead before yielding to stablemate Vondell Kemp (Jim McNeight Jr.) passing the quarter in :29.1. As they made their way around turn two, early action from behind saw an outer flow grow with Gone Goodbye (Shawn McDonough) leading the way and Tulsa Bell (Kyle Cummings) following right behind.
When the field raced up the backstretch, Gone Goodbye bowed out, forcing Tulsa Bell to swing three-deep heading to three-quarters. But that didn’t affect Tulsa Bell, who marched to the front and drew even with Vondell Kemp as they battled into the final bend. The top two trotters matched strides to the top of the stretch, where Tulsa Bell pulled away from Vondell Kemp while holding off a late surge from Andy Over to win by a neck in 2:02.
It was the third consecutive win for Tulsa Bell ($4.50), who is owned by John Byler and trained by Tammy Cummings.
Shawn McDonough was a busy man on Tuesday as both a trainer and driver during the program. He trained three winners: Mingo Joel (2:00.4, $7.70) and Major Escape (2:02, $23.96), both of whom he also drove, and Justine (2:00.3, $6.26) who was driven by Ray Fisher Jr.
The winter meet at Batavia Downs concludes on Thursday (Feb. 5), and there are several things to note.
There are two more Batavia Downs Winter Series finals on tap, both on the pace and worth $11,000 and $14,000, and carded as races five and seven, respectively. Post time for the first race is 1 p.m.
Also, with no winner in the Jackpot Super Hi-5 on Tuesday, there is a $1,511 carryover for that wager in the ninth race on Thursday. That pool will be guaranteed at $5,000 through the USTA’s Strategic Wagering program. And since it’s the last day of the meet, it will also be a “must-pay” situation where the pool will be distributed. It also means free full past performance forms will be free to download (when available) at ustrotting.com under the Handicapping tab.
Free full card past performance programs for every live card of racing at Batavia can always be downloaded at the track’s website under the “Live Racing” tab. Then, you can watch all the races live as they happen for free on the Batavia Downs YouTube page.