Press release:
Ruby, a 3-year-old dachshund making her first lifetime start, defeated nine other wiener dogs on Sunday (Aug. 27) en route to winning the 2017 Batavia Downs Dachshund Dash, sponsored by Genesee Feeds of Batavia.
History has shown that a dog racing for the first time normally doesn’t perform as well as dogs that have raced in previous years. But that wasn’t the case on Sunday when Ruby, who is owned by Patrick Gorman, of Buffalo, served notice with an electrifying heat victory believed to be the fastest win ever at Batavia.
In the final she took the lead soon after the start and cruised to victory.
“She stays fit by swimming,” said her owner Gorman. “She loves to fetch so that’s why we entered her.”
For her efforts her owner takes home $135 in Batavia Downs Gaming Free Play and two clubhouse buffet tickets.
Finishing second was Maximus for owner Carrie Marseglia while Martin for owner Christine Baker was third.
Getting the biggest roar of the crowd was former champion, also named Rudy. Now a 14-year-old, the legendary Dachshund who was unbeatable in 2005 and 2006 made the final but was unplaced.
“It was a remarkable afternoon,” Director of Marketing Ryan Hasenauer said. “Every year Family Fun day gets bigger and better and we look forward to doing it all again next year.”
With New York Sire Stakes, Family fun Day and the Wiener dog races, local racing fans and families came out in force on a perfect summer afternoon. Track officials estimated the live crowd to be 3,500.
The dogs have more fun than a
The dogs have more fun than a bunch of kids, running around and chasing each other. The sentimental favorite was the dog with the crippled hind quarters running with the aid of a wheeled cart. He also won his preliminary heat as the other dogs could not figure out what to do. The funniest dog was the one in the final heat that ran by his owner and decided to do a complete lap on the 1/2 mile oval. His owner finally caught up with him half way thru the lap.