Hamburg, NY – Utopia Blue Chip ($4.70) was able to collar the pace setting Face The Shadows down the stretch and register the length victory in Buffalo Raceway’s $15,500 Open Pace for the ladies on Wednesday afternoon (May 13). She covered the mile over the fast track in 1:56.3.
From the start, Face The Shadows (Kevin Cummings) was able to grab the lead and posted fractions of :29.3 and :58.3 in opening a two length advantage. Heading down the backside the final time, Face The Shadows extended the margin to nearly three lengths by hitting the three-quarter pole in 1:27.1. But Utopia Blue Chip (Dale Spence) was just getting started and began to cut into the lead.
Turning down the long home stretch, Face The Shadows couldn’t answer the bell as Utopia Blue Chip steadily moved up and rallied to get the length win thanks to a :28.3 last panel. Elegant Woman A (Drew Monti) was able to win the battle for the show position.
Leased and trained by Spence, Utopia Blue Chip (Sweet Lou-Reign On Me) is a six-year-old mare that has won four times in 18 starts on the campaign, including two of the last three Open events at Buffalo Raceway. The decision upped her 2026 bankroll to $36,677 and to $256,016 lifetime.
Cory Kreiser had a big day as he scored both a driving and training triple on the card. Monti also had a driving three-bagger with Michael Baumeister getting a pair of victories. Samuel Smith conditioned a pair of winners.
Racing will continue on Friday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. with another 13-race program scheduled.
For more information including the latest news, upcoming promotions, entries, results and race replays, go to www.buffaloraceway.com