Oakfield-Alabama held the lead going into the break… with the help of the medley relay win and individual swims by Hilchey, Schramm, Davis, and Williams. The win for OA finally came down to the 400 freestyle relay. With a DQ on the opposing team and a PR for OA. Our girls held the lead and pulled through with a win for Oakfield-Alabama/Elba. Fast swims all around for the sharks, with PRs in the 200 Medley, 200 Free, and 400 Free relays and individual events.
Come cheer on the girls AWAY against HarleyAllenColum on Thursday at 4:30. Great work, ladies.
Pembroke beat Alden 53-34 on Tuesday in Boys Basketball.
Pembroke:
Jayden Bridge, 25 points and seven rebounds
Josh vonKramer, 11 points
Jarrett Lewter, nine assists
"I was really pleased with our effort tonight and how we defended," said Coach Mat Shay. "We try to hold teams to 12 or less per quarter, and we were able to do it for all four quarters tonight. We know we are going to have some growing pains because we don't have a ton of experience, and we need the guys to just keep working hard, and we'll be a tough team."
The Oakfield-Alabama Girls Swim team beat Wheatland-Chili in their third meet of the season 63-23.
We started with a quick 200-medley relay. Davis, Hilchey, Schramm, Finkney, touched the wall with a 2:25.94
The 200 freestyle relay led off by Hilchey speeding into the wall with a (28.45) PR split, followed by Foster (32.98), Schramm (30.25), and Davis as anchor (27.42) the girls pulled into the wall going a speedy 1:59.10
The 400 freestyle relay led off by Williams, followed by Finkley, Foster, and Kaczmarek going 5:24.25
For our individual events
PR in 200 Free, Vivian Hilchey 2:23.34, Brooke Schramm 2:36.15
50 free, Brooke Schramm touched first with a 29.57
PR’s in 100-yard butterfly, Tori Davis 1:14.78, Ada Foster 1:44.23
PR’s in 100 free Summer Williams 1:19.38
PR’s in 500 free, Mackenzie Domoy 8:20.15
PR’s in 100 back, Vivian Hilchey 1:16.70, Mackenzie Domoy 1:44.40
PR’s in 100 Breast, Tori Davis 1:26.83 (touchpad malfunction!), Ada Foster 1:29.95
Let’s keep this roll going ladies! Keep it up as we head into our meet against Pembroke/Alexander on Tuesday.
The 2024 racing season wrapped up at Batavia Downs last Saturday (Dec. 7) night and that also closed the track’s books for the year. After all the paperwork was finalized, the bottom line showed that the business of harness racing at Batavia Downs is operating at a record pace.
The overall handle at Batavia Downs for both the winter and summer/fall meets came in at $16,826,483, which is a 9.2% increase over 2023 that saw a total handle of $15,414,846. Plus this year’s handle was the highest recorded at the track since Western Regional Off Track Betting began running the racing operation in 2002.
That 9.2% increase is quite notable on its merits alone, but it also stands out in the crowd in a year where the overall handle at harness tracks across North America is down a collective 6.66%.
Don Hoover is the Director of Live Racing at Batavia Downs and he was very satisfied with the results, and was quick to mention everyone whose hard work made it happen.
“2024 was another record handle year for Batavia Downs and ended up surpassing our previous record set just last year. Once again, it was a total team effort from the entire staff at Batavia Downs with special thanks going to the live racing staff, track maintenance, simulcast, group sales, marketing, track management and of course, the horsemen and horse women who put on the show every night. They provided very competitive racing and proof of that was favorites winning only 44.5% of the time, which rates among the lowest in the industry at any half mile track in North America. Back to back record years is noteworthy, but so was the all time record $75,000 guaranteed pool we had on Nov. 13 that also produced a record payoff. Plus the track distributed over $7 million in overnight purses to our owners, trainers and drivers this year,” said Hoover.
There will be only a short amount of time for the track to sit on this year’s laurels as the break in the action at the Genesee County oval will be brief. Live racing returns to Batavia Downs on Monday (Jan. 6) for the start of the 15-day 2025 winter meet, the third consecutive overcoat session the track has hosted. Racing will be held every Monday and Thursday through Monday (Feb. 24) with all cards having a 3 p.m. post.
The Pembroke Dragons never held the lead and was down by as many as 10 points during the game but with 1.3 seconds left, that all changed when Peyton Liss hit a runner to secure a come-from-behind victory, 37-35 over Kendall.
It was the season opener for the Dragons.
Scoring:
Seneca Calderon, 12 points, six rebounds, four steals.
Peyton Liss, six points, four steals, five blocks
Onolee Easterbrook, six points, four rebounds, four steals
Morgan Coniber, 2 points, five rebounds, three steals, four blocks
Jayden Hootman: six points, six rebounds, three assists.
Notre Dame, on the road for its season opener, beat Lyondville in Girls Basketball on Friday night, 58-34.
Sofia Falleti scored 22 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and seven steals.
Gianna Falleti had 12 points and five steals, Lucia Fiorentino had 11 points, and Clairissa Milliman had six points.
“We came out tonight ready to get this season started," said Coach Vinny Falleti. "These girls were ready to play. We have a very young team this year, and I was excited to see how cohesive and energized they play."
Photo of Dougadougadew courtesy of Wendy J. Lowery.
Even though it was getaway day at Batavia Downs as the curtain came down on the 2024 summer/fall meeting on Saturday (Dec. 7) night, the competition was fast and furious during a card that saw drivers Kevin Cummings and Dave McNeight III win five races each while trainer Sam Smith sent four from his stable to the winner’s enclosure on a night he was awarded as top conditioner of the meet.
Cummings winners included Runrunjimmydunn N (1:55.2, $6.30), Out On Bail (1:55.2, $3.50), Johnny Boy (1:58.1, $14.00) and Famous Dan (1:58.3, $3.20), all of which were trained by Smith, and Crystal Beach (1:57.4, $48.20).
McNeight’s successful contingent was made up of Our Night Fury (1:59.2, $6.70), Skyline Blue Chip (1:58.3, $3.20), Mach Le More A (1:56.2, $36.20) who will be covered more later, Shipsaway (1:57, $2.50) and Mason Street (1:59.2, $12.60).
There were co-featured $14,000 races on the closing card and the trot was won by another award winner.
After going 0 for 8 last year in a less than memorable season, Dougadougadew did a complete 180 and capped-off 2024 with his 12th win of the year while matching his career best time in the Open Handicap trot on the night when he was named the Trotter of the Meet at Batavia Downs.
In a very typical start for the chestnut trotter, Dougadougadew (Kyle Cummings) got away last by 10 lengths as El Toro Loco (Kevin Cummings) parked out the visiting Big Box Hanover (Larry Stalbaum) in fast fractions of :28.1 and :57 through the cold, blustery night. As the race headed onto the second circuit, Biscoe (Jim McNeight Jr.) made a first-over move and Dougadougadew was happy to take the cover, one out and one back.
As the race headed towards three-quarters, Big Box Hanover succumbed to the overland grind, forcing Biscoe and Dougadougadew three-wide into the final bend. Biscoe crossed over and Dougadougadew drew alongside and the final furlong became a match race. Biscoe was maintaining his lead, but Dougadougadew kept digging and getting closer with every stride and four pylons from the line, Dougadougadew edged ahead and won by a neck in 1:57.1, tying his lifetime mark.
Dougadougadew ($7.80) made it an even dozen victories and pushed his seasonal bankroll to $85,877 for owners Doug and Tyra Ackley and trainer Tammy Cummings.
Then in the Open Handicap pace, Mach Le More A upset the field in a blanket finish at 17-1.
Mach Le More A (Dave McNeight III) got away sixth as Virgil N (Mike Baumeister) got the field to the half in a tepid :58.4. Bet On Blake (Kevin Cummings) moved into second from a first-over move in turn three while Mach Le More A drafted, fourth on the outside. Positions remained unchanged to three-quarters and Virgil N even started to pull away from the group in the last turn. But Mach Le More A, who was still fourth and three lengths from the leader, had different ideas as he tipped to the middle of the track and mowed down the competition at the wire where he won by a head in 1:56.2 in a photo that saw a mere length separate the top six finishers.
It was the second straight win and ninth of the season for Mach Le More A ($36.20) who pushed his earnings to $91,580 this year for owner Marissa Russo and Fac Racing. Dave Russo does the training.
The $10,000 guaranteed Jackpot Hi-5 pool with an end of season must-pay in the 15th race produced an outstanding payoff to those who caught the number. The 9-1-3-5-2 combination returned $2,120,20 for a 20-cent wager.
As alluded to earlier in this report, meet ending awards were presented by the Upstate New York Chapter of the United States Harness Writers Association and Batavia Downs during their Night of Distinction ceremony. Longtime Batavia blacksmith Ray Cable received a Lifetime Achievement Award, Drew Monti and Sam Smith were named driver and trainer of the meet, Dougadougadew was trotter of the meet and Won Surreal Deal was pacer of the meet. All awards were presented trackside to the respective recipients and their connections.
Although the 2024 meet has ended, the track won’t be dark for long as live racing returns to Batavia Downs on Monday (Jan. 6) for the start of the 15-day 2025 winter meet. Racing will be held every Monday and Thursday through Monday (Feb. 24) with all cards having a 3 p.m. post.
Photo of Mach Le More A courtesy of Wendy J. Lowery.
The Jackpot Super Hi-5 at Batavia Downs has not been hit in several days and as a result, the carryover has grown to $4,723 after Wednesday’s action. With the meet coming to an end on Saturday (Dec. 7), this must be paid out and the track has guaranteed that pool at $10,000 through the United States Trotting Association’s Strategic Wagering Program.
As part of the program, Trackmaster is offering free full past performance program pages on the USTA website that can be found under the Handicapping link at the top of the page.
The Jackpot Super Hi-5 at Batavia Downs is a 20-cent minimum wager in the 15th race on Saturday with an estimated post time of 10:40 p.m. Post time for the first race is at 6 p.m.
And as always, free full card past performance programs for every live card of racing at Batavia can always be downloaded at the Downs’ website (bataviadownsgaming.com) under the “Live Racing” tab and all the racing action can be viewed as it happens for free at the Batavia Downs Live Facebook page.
Thurman Thomas is hosting a tailgate party in the 34 Rush Bar on Sunday for the Buffalo Bills at the Los Angeles Rams game.
The tailgate party starts at 4:15 p.m.
Thomas will be at the party and and available for pictures with fans at halftime.
Fans can enter to win prizes at the Players Club start 4 p.m. Prizes in clude Bills gear from Bud Light and club-level tickets for the final two home ages.
Photo of Dougadougadew courtesy of Wendy J. Lowery.
The Upstate New York Chapter of the United States Harness Writers Association and Batavia Downs have announced the horses of the meet at The Downs, whose meet will conclude on Saturday (Dec. 7).
Dougadougadew (Deweycheatumnhowe-Fashionablefilly) has been named trotter of the meet while Won Surreal Deal (So Surreal-Won Ideal Night) has been named pacer of the meet.
Dougadougadew is the highest earning horse at Batavia this meet regardless of gait with $51,315 in earnings and is also the winningest trotter on the grounds with seven victories. He started the meet in lower level conditioned races and worked his way to the top, winning his first of three Open class trots on September 7. For the meet, Dougadougadew has made 17 starts with seven wins, three seconds and one third that give him a 41% win rate while finishing 65% of the time in the money. He also took a lifetime mark of 1:57.1 at The Downs on November 2 to cap off a career year.
Dougadougadew races from off the pace and his three and four wide three-quarter moves have provided a number of exciting finishes over the course of the meet. He is trained by Tammy Cummings and driven by Kyle Cummings for owners Doug and Tyra Ackley.
Won Surreal Deal is the highest earning pacer at this meet, banking $43,750 off of her six wins and four thirds registered from her 14 total starts. She is an upper-level mare who has won three Open paces for distaff participants while hitting the board in that elite class five other times. Her most impressive victory came early on August 13, when she bolted away to a seven length victory in 1:53.4. But the consistent side-wheeler remained a horse to beat through the entire meet as she finished her campaign winning four of her last six starts at Batavia.
Won Surreal Deal has a stellar win rate of 43% and has been in the money 71% of the time for trainer Jeff Sorenson and driver Kyle Cummings, who steered her in 13 of her 14 Batavia starts for owner Parsimonious Racing Stable.
The connections of Dougadougadew and Won Surreal Deal will be presented their awards trackside during the UNY-USHWA Night of Distinction that will be held at Batavia Downs on closing night, Saturday (Dec. 7).
Photo of Won Surreal Deal courtesy of Wendy J. Lowery.
The Upstate New York Chapter of the United States Harness Writers Association is proud to announce that longtime Batavia blacksmith, Ray Cable, will be given their 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award for his over 60-years of work and dedication to the horses who raced at Batavia Downs.
Cable was born on March 12, 1945 in Effingham, Illinois and followed his father Phillip’s footsteps into the farrier business. He started shoeing at age 12 as an apprentice with his father, who shod horses at race tracks on the Grand Circuit along with many county fairs across the country from their mobile truck shop before coming to Batavia to set up permanently in 1960. Since then, Cable has run his blacksmith shop on the grounds of Batavia Downs ever since.
Cable has shod thousands of horses over the years and from every class ranging from the bottom claimers to the top competing in the Open, from the barns of trainers across the U.S. as well as Canada. Cable has shod some of the best in the business including the locally owned Bay’s Fella (1:51.1, $805,234) who won the $273,458 Breeders Crown Open Pace in 1990.
Ray Cable is one of four brothers that included Chuck, Phillip and Leon, who all became outstanding farriers. Ray’s son, Ray Jr. is also an accomplished farrier and his grandsons Kelly and Chris, who are now both shoeing as well, make up the fourth generation of “Cable shoers”.
Ray Cable will be presented his award trackside during the UNY-USHWA Night of Distinction that will be held at Batavia Downs on the closing night of the meet, Saturday, December 7.
Submitted photos from Cable Shoers Facebook.
Photo of (from left to right) Ray Cable Jr., Ray Cable, Kelly Cable, and Chris Cable.
