It's not too often when you can catch driver Jim Morrill Jr. at a long price. On Friday afternoon (July 21), it was a rare occurrence.
Morrill Jr., who has clinched his third consecutive driving title at Buffalo Raceway this season, hopped aboard to catch-drive Dandys BB Eight (pictured above) for owner/trainer Rock Vinci in the fifth race and caught the fans off guard with a $64.50 victory.
Later on the card, the Morrill Jr. and Vinci combination struck again as Pogey Beach took a $13.60 mild surprise in the 10th event.
If you wanted a huge upset, you had to wait until the final race on the card as Missevil posted a $105 decision for driver Tomy Mays.
In the fifth race, Larjon Legacy (Keith Kash Jr.) cut the fractions of :28.4, :58.2 and 1:28.3 to the three-quarter pole. Dandys BB Eight was seventh but caught some live cover from JDs Macca Lodge (Joseph Chindano Jr.) and Catch The Wave (James McNeight Jr.). Turning for home, Morrill Jr. masterfully guided Dandys BB Eight into striking position and easily chugged past Larjon Legacy by 1-1/2 lengths in 1:59.4. JDs Macca Lodge took the show position.
The victory was the second in 24 appearances this year for the four-year-old Dandys BB Eight (World Of Rocknroll-U All BB). The gelding has now earned $10,990 on the season.
The chase for the Buffalo Raceway Trainer of the Meet title will come down to Samuel Smith and David Russo on Saturday evening. Smith leads with 47 wins on the season while Russo has collected 45 victories. Russo pulled within two wins thanks to a training triple on Friday while Smith found the winner's circle just once.
On the 13-race program coming up on closing night, Smith has six horses entered while Russo has four. The pair will go head-to-head in three of those races, which will likely settle the score.
Kevin Cummings completed the afternoon with five victories on the card. He's just three scores away from hitting the 100-win mark for the 2023 season at Buffalo Raceway. He could hit that plateau as he is named to drive in 11 of the 13 races on Saturday's card.
Chindano Jr. and Morrill Jr. finished off the day with driving doubles.
Post time for the live season finale is 6 p.m. Simulcasting will end after the action on Sunday afternoon. Simulcasting will reopen in February 2024.
(Buffalo Raceway)