Hopefully Buffalo Raceway officials have fast drying ink for the record book. After Deswanslittlelorie set the all-aged trotting record at Buffalo Raceway this past Saturday night with a 1:55.3 time, Wild Bill Kelso came to town on Wednesday afternoon (July 19) and tied that mark with a length victory in a New York Sire Stakes event for the three-year-old colt and gelding trotters.
As impressive as that was, Chapercraz (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.) wasn't going to be outdone.
Within 90 minutes of Wild Bill Kelso's etching of his name into the record book, Chapercraz came along with a huge eraser and posted an eye-popping 1:54.2 time in his $57,000 division of the New York Sire Stakes for the sophomore male trotters to take the all-aged trotting mark.
The clocking by Chapercraz obliterated Wild Bill Kelso's newly minted all-aged time of 1:55.3 by over a second. It also best the Buffalo Raceway standard for the three-year-old gelding trotters of 1:56.1 set by Gural Hanover back on June 29, 2014 .
It was only the second career victory for the gelded Chapercraz (Crazy Wow-Chaperess). The victory pushed his seasonal earnings to an astounding $238,152 in 10 outings in 2023 after just making $4,772 in one start in 2022.
Chapercraz ($2.10) had absolutely no issues in pounding the field into submission. Quickly gaining the lead, Chapercraz put up fractions of :29.1, 57:3 and 1:25.4 over the lightning fast track. Owning a 10 length advantage at the top of the stretch, Wrenn Jr. just let Chapercraz do his thing and breezed to a 13-3/4-length victory over You Got It (Niko Karna) while Expresso (Tyler Miller) was third.
Chapercraz is trained by Ron Burke and owned by the Burke Racing Stable, Weaver Bruscemi and Phillip Collura.
In the first division for the males, it appeared Wild Bill Kelso ($2.50) was going to be the star of the day. Racing to a big five-length advantage to the opening quarter mile in :28.4, Wild Bill Kelso (Jim Morrill Jr.) then put up fractions of :57 and 1:26.1 but had Onion Gum hounding him in the pocket. Things remained status quo, however, as Wild Bill Kelso held back Onion Gum (Jordan Stratton) by a length while Some Kinda Crazy (Marcus Miller) collected the show position.
The time of 1:55.3 put Wild Bill Kelso in the record book temporarily but eventually he would have to be happy with the $27,950 first-place cheque.
The win was the second in six attempts this season for the gelded Wild Bill Kelso (Crazy Wow-Broadway Joe Ell). Owned by the Runthetable Stables, he is trained by Jim Campbell.
The two divisions of the New York Sires Stakes for the three-year-old fillies were as drama-filled.
Woolco ($12.20) took the first leg as she watched as All The Rage (Stratton) set the tempo with times of :28.3, :58.3 and 1:28.3. The chalk in the meantime, Usosweet, was on a break and lost any hope from the beginning. Hitting the final marker, Morrill Jr. had Woolco first over on the rim and eventually reached the lead, beating Pride N Joy (Karna) by a half length in 1:58 with All The Rage settling for third.
The win was the third in four attempts this year for Woolco (Chapter Seven-Upside Hanover), who is owned by the Hero Stables and trained by Robert Krivelin. The score jacked her 2023 bankroll to $53,500 and lifetime earnings to $161,924.
In the other, approximately $56,000 division for the damsels, Point Reyes (Wrenn Jr.) stalked the pacesetting On The House (Marcus Miller) just about the entire mile before nudging past in the shadow of the wire to collect the $16.50 upset by a nose in 2:00.1. Bourbon On Ice (John Stark Jr.) was third.
Notching splits of :29.2, 1:00 and 1:30 .3, On The House battled every step of the way but eventually lost out to Point Reyes by a mere nose in the photo finish.
Co-owned by Tom Vassiliou and Nicholas Tallarico, Point Reyes (E L Titan-Sausalito) is conditioned by Nifty Norman. The victory was the second in seven appearances this year for Point Reyes, now a winner of $43,065 on the campaign and $100,290 lifetime.
In the two $20,000 Excelsior Series events for the male sidewinders, Met Your Request ($4.40, 1:58.2) and Seven Sins ($15.60, 1:58.1) were victorious while on the ladies' side, Serendipity ($5.20, 1:58.1) and Destinys Darling ($4.40, 1:58.3) all made trip to the winner's circle.
The final two cards of the 2023 season at Buffalo Raceway are set for Friday, July 21 and Saturday, July 22. The 13-race program on Friday begins at 2:30 p.m. while the finale on Saturday gets underway at 6 p.m. with another 13-race card slated.
(Buffalo Raceway)