Hard work by Kim Crawford and his track crew put aside the effects of an overnight ice storm that negatively impacted a large swath of Western New York, and ensured that the Thursday afternoon (Feb. 23) card was held as scheduled. And despite sloppy conditions with intermittent freezing rain throughout the day, the card went off without a hitch.
Three $13,000 Open races topped the program. Ladies came first as a field of seven top-class distaff pacers went postward with the public all over American Delight N, (Jim Morrill Jr.) and the mare did not disappoint her supporters.
Driver Jim Morrill Jr. put American Delight N on the engine and never looked back. With Ball Diamond sitting in the garden spot, American Delight N set even fractions of :29, :59.2 and 1:29 before entering turn four. Ball Diamond tipped to challenge at the head of the lane but couldn’t get the job done as American Delight N held sway to the line to win by a neck in a season’s best 1:58.1.
It was the second win of the year for American Delight N and owners Mike Deters and Joel Warner. Kevin Reynolds Jr. trains the $4.10 winner.
Next came the Open male pacers and Out On Bail made his seasonal debut a winning one after a strong stretch drive.
A Game Changer fought hard against Lord Willoughby A to get the lead but did so in a quick :27.4. A Game Changer slowed the pace a bit to the half in :57.4 and that prompted Out On Bail to pull first over from fourth as they rolled past the grandstand. A Game Changer saw his lead diminish as they went up the backstretch and his opponent looked him in the eye around the last turn. Out On Bail and A Game Changer were even heading for home and matched strides as they approached the wire. Out On Bail got the advantage late and scored by one-half length in 1:58.1.
Out On Bail is owned by Mike Torcello and trained by Sammy Smith. Kevin Cummings drove the $6.40 winner.
Then the top trotters took the stage with Cummings and Smith teaming up again with another Torcello-owned charge Gemini Eddie, who turned a Northfield tightener into a Batavia victory.
Leaving from post seven, Credit List out-muscled the pylon-starting Embrace The Rust and crossed over at the quarter in :30.1. Positions of the top two remained unchanged for the next half mile until they were joined by Gemini Eddie, who made a three-wide move from fifth at three-quarters and made his way to second in the last turn. Gemini Eddie hooked up with Credit List at the top of the stretch and the two trotted in tandem all the way to the light where Gemini Eddie got the advantage and won by one-quarter length in 2:00.2.
It was the 27th win for the high-percentage Gemini Eddie, who has finished in the money 55 per cent of the time during his career. He paid $8.20 to win.
The off-going also provided a host of longshot payoffs throughout the card. The 50-cent Pick-5 combination of 3,8-7-3-5-2 returned $2,237.50 in the fifth race. A win by the 26-1 SBD Corazon resulted in a $55.00 win mutuel and $1,209.40 price for the 20-cent superfecta combination of 5-4-6-1 in the seventh race. In the final contest of the night, Mean Irene upset at 16-1 for a win payout of $35.80. A $1 6-9-1-2 superfecta prize of $4,553.50 and a $1 trifecta of 6-9-1 that paid $1,335.50.
When live racing resumes at Batavia Downs on Monday (Feb. 27) at 3 p.m. (EST), there will be a $461 carryover in the Jackpot Hi-5 pentafecta in the ninth race. Monday is also the final card of racing for the 2023 winter meet.
(Batavia Downs)