Hamburg, NY — A pair of veteran trotters notched their first victories of the season in the co-featured $9,000 events at Buffalo Raceway on Friday afternoon (April 12) as Lougazi posted a popular $2.50 score in the opening division while Con Air Hall pulled a $27.80 stunner in the other bracket.

Lougazi rallied to pick up his first win of the season at Buffalo Raceway this afternoon. Barnstormer Images photo. 

The 10-year-old Lougazi, now a winner 59 times in his sparkling career, used his patented late rally to wear down Caviar’s Yankee by 1-1/4 lengths in 1:58.2 while the 11-year-old Con Air Hall wired the field in dashing the hopes of Good Boy by a neck in 1:59.0 over the fast track.

In the first race, Caviar’s Yankee (Kevin Cummings) got the jump on the field and registered an opening half in :59.2. Lougazi, who was sitting in third place, went first over and got on even terms with the tempo-setting Caviar’s Yankee midway down the backstretch.

The pair raced as a tandem throughout the lane with Lougazi (Ray Fisher Jr.) eventually wearing down Caviar’s Yankee to take the decision. Aint No Mojo (Kyle Cummings) picked up the show check.

Owned by Mary Warriner and conditioned by Ryan Swift, it was the first win of the season in six tries for Lougazi (Lou’s Legacy-Winning Blade). The victory pushed his seasonal earnings to $9,292 and $524,158 lifetime.

Con Air Hall (Drew Monti) took immediate control off the starting gate in the second division, rolling to splits of :29.4, :59.2 and 1:29.0.

Con Air Hall wired the field in co-featured trot on Friday at Buffalo Raceway. Barnstormer Images photo.

Turning for home, Con Air Hall looked to have things well in hand but a late charge from Good Boy (Fisher Jr.) provided some anxious moments at the wire but that bid came up just a neck short. Poets N Pirates (Kevin Cummings) finished in third.

Owned by Ron Viele and trained by Jennifer Giuliani, Con Air Hall (Groton Hall-Charm’s Chip) has produced $8,600 in winnings in 2024 and $376,879 in his career.

Monti led the driver’s statistics on Friday with three wins while David McNeight III and Shawn McDonough all had doubles. McDonough also had a pair of training victories.

Racing returns on Saturday (April 13) evening at 6 p.m. with 10 races set to go to the post.

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