(Photos courtesy of Paul White. Above, in front, is Drivers' Bike Race winner for 2016 -- Mickey Holliday.)
By Tim Bojarski, for Batavia Downs
During the Monday afternoon (Sept. 5) Labor Day card of racing at Batavia Downs, the highly anticipated annual Drivers' Bike Race was held and for the third time in four years, Mickey Holliday was the winner and he did it in convincing fashion despite the high-80s temperatures that had everyone looking for shade.
A full field of eight drivers went postward, with their wheels front and back instead of left and right, on brand new cruising bikes to compete for bragging rights for the coming year. Patrick Galbraith, Rock Vinci, JD Perrin, Jimmy McNeight Jr., Mickey Holliday, Lee Dahn, Denny Buccerri and Drew Monti lined up behind the gate and when track announcer Joe Zambito said "GO!" at the top of the far turn, the gate pulled away and it was a mad rush for the wire.
While Drew Monti and Jim McNeight Jr. both got away bad off the gate, the middle of the pack peddled fairly even until they straightened out at the head of the stretch and Perrin opened up a three length lead. Holliday got in gear and eventually drew even with Perrin, then the two separated themselves from the field by at least 15 lengths. They battled it out until about 50 feet from the wire when Holliday simply out-legged Perrin to win by an open length.
After the race Mickey Holliday summed up the experience by saying "(drawing breaths)...I'm tired!." Holliday then drew eight winners at random from the crowd of 3,000 fans who attended the afternoon's festivities and they were awarded the eight bikes used in the race.
The annual bike race has been a part of the Batavia Downs Labor Day matinee since 1979 and was sponsored by Craze Cheap Cars, of Oakfield.
