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Muscle car drawing leads to record night for Batavia Downs

By Howard B. Owens

The joint was hopping Saturday night at Batavia Downs, with more than 6,100 patrons on hand for a muscle car drawing and a live band in the Paddock Room.

There were 3.1 million credits played Saturday, and Marty Biniasz, director of marketing, said that is a new record, beating the 2.8 million credits played one night last march.

The muscle car -- a 2010 Camero SS -- was won by a guy named Jim (last name not released) from Le Roy. He opted for the $20,000 instead.

Players eligible for the drawing earned chances to win through play at the casino over the previous seven weeks.

Last year, the an OTB employee won the Dodge Challenger given away by the Downs. This year, Biniasz said, before the winner was announced officials made sure he wasn't an employee of the Downs, of OTB or the dealership sponsoring the contest.

To accommodate the large crowd, the Downs opened up the Paddock Room, where an 80s tribute band played live, and the grandstands were open with TVs tuned either to basketball or the Buffalo Sabres game.

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