The nearly week-long winter storm that has gripped western New York and necessitated the cancellation of live racing at Batavia Downs on Monday (Jan. 15), has once again forced track officials to cancel live racing at The Downs for Thursday (Jan. 18) due to the ongoing effects of the extreme weather conditions. Simulcast at the track will remain open.
Live racing will resume as scheduled at Batavia on Monday (Jan. 22) at 3 p.m.
Sydney Reilly's double-double helped propel Elba over Holley 58-31 in Girls Basketball on Tuesday.
Reilly scored 29 points and grabbed 16 rebounds.
Lydia Ross scored 14 points. Mariah Ognibene scored five points and five rebounds.
Photos by Debra Reilly.
Oakfield was held scoreless in the fourth quarter on Tuesday night, but was so dominant earlier in the game, including scoring 18 points in the third quarter, that they were able to hold onto a big lead and beat Alexander 39-29 in Girls Basketball.
Caitlin Ryan scored 13 points for the Hornets and Alea Geoff scored eight.
Hayden Bezon scored eight for the Trojans.
Also in Girls Basketball on Tuesday:
In Boys Basketball, Le Roy beat Batavia 65-51. Merritt Holly scored 21 points. Jake Higgins, 13 points. Jean Agosto, nine points and 13 rebounds. No stats were provided for Batavia.
To view or purchase prints, click here.
As a result of the crippling winter storm western New York has experienced over the past 48 hours and the expected continuation of snowfall and dangerous road conditions through tonight, Batavia Downs has canceled live racing for Monday (Jan. 15) out of an abundance of caution for the safety of the horses, horsemen and woman and fans.
Live racing will resume as scheduled on Thursday (Jan. 18) at 3 p.m.
Byron-Bergen's Braedyn Chambry was dominant again, scoring 34 points, to lead the Bees to an 80-60 win over Albion on Saturday afternoon.
Brenden Pimm and Colin Martin each scored 12 points. Brody Baubie scored nine points.
The Bees are now 9-1 on the season.
Photos by Jennifer DiQuattro
Batavian Jim Prucha enjoyed a "career night" earlier this week as he rolled a pair of 279 games in a 764 series in the Mancuso Real Estate Monday Doubles League at Mancuso Bowling Center.
The 60-year-old right-hander started with 279 and finished with 279 (posting 11 strikes in a row after an open) to record his highest three-game series ever. He went into the night with a 188 average.
Prolific left-hander Brian Cline of Middleport continued his assault on the pins with games of 236, 266 and 288 for a 790 series, raising his average to 236.
In other Genesee Region USBC league action:
--James Townsend of Batavia registered a 278 game in a 753 series in the Toyota of Batavia 4-Man League at Mancuso's.
-- Bill Neubert of Batavia finished with a 297 game -- leaving the 3-6-10 on the 12th ball -- for a 755 series in the Thursday Owls League at Rose Garden Bowl in Bergen.
-- At Oak Orchard Bowl in Albion, Reid Cole of Albion fired 279-279-247--805 in the Every-Other-Saturday League, and John Beadle of Brockport tallied 244-279-278--801 in the Thursday Men's Triples League.
For a list of high scores for the week, click on the Pin Points tab at the top of the home page.
Eastridge proved a tough opponent for the Batavia Blue Devils on Saturday afternoon, taking the game 64-40.
Jamin Macdonald scored 12 points, Isabella Walsh, 10, and Karizwa Wescott, nine.
Liv Green scored 19 for Eastridge.
To view or purchase photos, click here.
Elba beat Pembroke 54-46 on Friday in Girls Basketball.
Sydney Reilly scored 16 points for the Lancers. She also has seven assists. Lydia Ross scored 14 points, and Mariah Ognibene scored 12 points. Ognibene also had 11 rebounds for a double-double.
Jayden Hootman scored 12 points for the Dragons. Elle Peterson scored eight.
Also, in Girls basketball on Friday, Notre Dame, for the second consecutive game, won in OT, beating Kendall 32-28. Sofia Falleti scored 13 points with nine rebounds. Emma Sisson scored seven and had six rebounds. Nina Barts scored six points and nabbed nine rebounds.
In Boys Basketball, Le Roy beat Warsaw, 76-48. Merritt Holly had another big game, getting a double-double with 26 points and 11 rebounds. Jean Agosto scored 20 points and had seven rebounds. Le Roy is now 9-2 and riding a five-game win streak.
Photos by Debra Reilly.
A sloppy track combined with heavy snow that started to fall after the third race provided some messy going at Batavia Downs on Thursday afternoon (Jan.11), but it didn’t take away from competitive racing and several very close finishes.
The features were a pair of $15,000 Open I Handicap races that were written for each gait.
First in the $15,000 Open I Handicap trot, despite coming up only a neck short in his first start in the top class at Batavia last week, Comeonover Hanover was dismissed by the betting public at 9-1 and made them pay after making a late rush to victory.
Blogmaster (Jim Morrill Jr.) led to the half in a soft :59.2 when Big Box Hanover (Larry Stalbaum) moved first-over and pushed the issue to three-quarters. At that station, Comeonover Hanover (Billy Dobson) was still sixth, but out and moving third-over. After coming out of the turn, Big Box Hanover took the lead from Blogmaster and Special Prosecutor (John Cummings Jr.) had moved into third. But it was Comeonover Hanover who was barrelling down the center of the track and took the lead at the wire to win in 2:00.4.
Comeonover Hanover ($20.60) is owned by Perry Elkins and trained by Andy Gardiner.
Then later in the $15,000 Open I Handicap pace, Lanjo Lee took no prisoners and could not be caught as he easily put away the competition in the stretch.
Lanjo Lee (Kyle Cummings) took the lead and cut quarters of :28.2 and :58.2 before Alta Engen A (Jim Morrill Jr.) pulled first-over from third. As they paced up the backside on the second circuit, Alta Engen A tried hard but could not get alongside Lanjo Lee and by three-quarters, his challenge had ended. This left Lanjo Lee two lengths ahead of the pocket-sitting Dontholdanythinbak (Keith Kash Jr.) and looking very much like a winner. When they straightened for home, Lanjo Lee bolted for the line under a line drive and won by 1-¾ lengths in 1:55.2..
Lanjo Lee ($8.40) is owned by Gordon Swift and trained by Jeff Sorenson.
In the day’s 14th race, driver Brett Beckwith made a three-wide move in the last turn with All About Lynx and caught the front-running Examiner Hanover (Larry Stalbaum) at the wire to win in 1:59 and blow up the tote board at 53-1. All About Lynx returned $109 for the win and sparked a 7-4-5-2 superfecta that returned the handsome sum of $3,253.80 for a 20-cent wager.
Drew Monti and Billy Dobson both scored driving hat tricks on Thursday while the day's top trainer Chris Petrelli sent two from his stable to the winner’s enclosure for pictures.
Live racing resumes at Batavia Downs on Monday (Jan. 15) at 3 p.m.
Free full 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.
Pembroke's Tyson Totten scored 24 points to help lead the Dragons to a 63-38 win over Elba on Thursday in Boys Basketball.
Totten also had eight rebounds.
Avery Ferreira scored 17 points, hitting three threes. Sam Pfeiffer, 11 points, with three threes, and Sean Pustulka had eight assists.
For the Lancers, Nicholas Scott scored 16 points.
"We had three good defensive quarters to close out the game," said Dragon's coach Matthew Shay. "I thought we did a nice job managing the game, which is a credit to Sean."
Pembroke is now 6-2. Elba is 2-7.
Photos by Debra Reilly.
Story by Coach Matt Holman:
It was windy and snowy for the first race of the 2024 ski season on Wheels Run.
The warm daytime temperatures left the race course softer than ideal conditions would provide. After the modified field had completed its first run, the course had been worn with ruts and large snow piles for the racers to navigate.
The Batavia Alpine Ski team fared well, with a third-place finish for the boy's team and a 4th place finish for the girl's team.
Leading the way for the team was a ninth-place finish for senior Ben Stone. Ethan Bradley (12th grade) was 15th, Gunnar Pietrzykowski (9th Grade) was 18th. Freshman Nolan Radly had a first run time good enough for 16th place but was unable to finish his second run.
Lily Wagner (12th grade) finished 11th for the girls. Quinn Woeller (12th grade) and Abby Bestine (11th grade) had good first runs (15th and 17th, respectively) but were unable to finish their 2nd.
"This first race sets the stage for a good season," Holman said. "The young skiers have learned some things tonight that you can't outside of an actual ski race, and I believe these teams will only get better as the season goes on."
For the second straight game, Merritt Holly scored more than 40 points, leading Le Roy to a 70-53 win over Geneseo in Boys Basketball.
With 44 points, it's the third time this season that Holly scored more than 40 points in a game.
Holly also had 14 rebounds and was 21-28 from the field.
Jean Agosto also notched a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, adding four assists and two steals.
Adam Woodworth, six points and eight assists, Matthew Hockey, six points.
Jackson Willis scored 32 points for Geneseo, hitting four three-pointers.
Elba walked away with the win against Kendall in Girls Basketball on Wednesday.
The final: 56-11.
Sydney Reilly scored 14 points, grabbed nine rebounds, six assists and four steals. Brea Smith had 13 rebounds to go with five points. Ava Buczek and Maddie had nine points each.
Photos by Debra Reilly.
Notre Dame squeaked by Byron-Bergen in Girls Basketball in overtime on Wednesday, 37-36.
The game was tied at the end of the fourth quarter at 32-32. The Irish were down by one with 4.9 seconds left when Sofia Falleti drove to the lane, missed the layup and Emma Sisson came in with a put-back at the buzzer for the win.
Falleti posted a double-double with 20 points and 14 rebounds. Sisson added eight points and 10 rebounds.
Olivia Senf scored 13 points for the Bees.
The Irish are now 5-4 on the season.
Submitted photo.
Batavia Downs opened their 2024 winter meet last Thursday (Jan. 4) and celebrated with a new all-source handle record of $390,922. Now only four days later on Monday (Jan.8), the second session of racing for this early season has again recorded a new high after $421,221 was wagered on the afternoon card. The increase is the latest jump in this upward handle trend at The Downs that began last winter and has continued ever since.
“It’s good to see the interest our product has continued to draw over this long period of time. We have picked up new customers this past year and clearly they have been supporting us through the windows. We are currently on a great trajectory and we certainly hope it continues,” said Don Hoover, Director of Live Racing at Batavia Downs.
Bettable races and quality horses have been key and Monday’s feature race was just one example. The $15,000 Open I Handicap pace for fillies and mares was won by Australian expat Magical Maya A, who notched her second North American victory in only her fourth attempt after she cruised gate to wire at The Downs.
Driver Larry Stalbaum left and meandered his way to the front with Magical Maya A, taking that position as Imprincessgemma A (Brett Beckwith) released her approaching the quarter. Once in command, Magical Maya A stopped the clock in :28.2, :58 and 1:26.3 with only Imprincessgemma A staying close. After rounding the turn, Imprincessgemma A dipped inside of Magical Maya A and made up some ground as they paced towards the wire. But Magical Maya A was game and hung onto the lead by over a length in 1:56.1.
It was the 10th lifetime win for the 6-year-old Magical Maya A ($7.60) who is owned and trained by her driver, Stalbaum.
After winning the eighth race on Monday, the 12-year-old Santana Beach (Jim Morrill Jr.) hit a career milestone by notching his 50th lifetime win. Trained by Andrew Torre, who co-owns with Kristen Torre, Santana Beach has now earned $333,569 from his efforts in 297 career starts.
John Cummings Jr. was the driving leader on Monday as he registered four winners during the afternoon. “Junior” won with BJ Lorado (2:00.1, $3.40), Shadow One (1:57.2, $3.50), So amazing (1:57.2, $3.40) and Jumpinthejailhouse (2:01, $7.00). Trainer Brianne Sinclair sent Cummings first two winners to post before adding her third win of the day with Windemere Ryan (1:57.4, $7.60) who was driven by Drew Monti. Sinclair ended up batting 1,000 as she only had three horses entered on Monday.
Live racing resumes at Batavia Downs on Monday (Jan. 8) at 3 p.m. and there will be a $1,422 carryover in the Pick 5 wager that starts in race one.
Free full 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.
Press release from Genesee Region USBC:
If the Genesee Region USBC awarded rings instead of plaques, Scott Culp’s victory at the 70th Scratch Memorial Tournament at Mount Morris Lanes would have been “one for the thumb.”
The 45-year-old high-revving right-hander showed that he continues to be at the top of his game by winning his fifth Scratch Memorial crown, defeating Pat Stefanik of Williamsville, 244-165, in the title match.
Culp, a Honeoye Falls resident, started the championship match with six strikes. He earned $650 while successfully defending the title he won iln 2023. He also won this event in 2017, 2018 and 2020.
“It’s so exhilarating,” said Culp, when asked how it feels to win five times. “There are a lot of good bowlers who compete in the Genesee Region association.”
Culp posted an 817 score in the Sunday morning qualifying squad – the third of three four-game squads to determine who would advance to the four-game semifinals. He said he was fortunate to move on.
“The way the day started out, I wasn’t sure if I would make it past the qualifying round,” he said. “But once the semifinals started, I decided to push everything to the right and fortunately it worked out for me.”
Usually, Culp, known for his high backswing, stands on the left side of the approach, using an inside line. His adjustment led to semifinal games of 244, 221, 198 and 266 for a 929 total on the challenging 39-foot Middle Road V2 oil pattern that gave him the No. 1 seed for the five-bowler stepladder finals.
Perry father-son duo of Brian and Brady Weber earned the No. 5 and No. 4 seeds, respectively, with Brian topping Brady, 210-143. From there, the third-seeded Stefanik, the lone lefty in the finals, edged Weber, 169-159.
Stefanik then defeated Adam Philp of Batavia, 201-173, to advance to the title match against Culp. Stefanik won $350 while Philp took home $240, Brian Weber $200 and Brady Weber $180.
Three other Genesee County bowlers cashed in the event – Batavians Mike Pettinella and Gregg Wolff and Mickey Hyde of Alexander.
The tournament drew 65 entrants and paid out $3,000 in prize money, including $300 added to the prize fund by the GRUSBC.
Philp and Kevin Gray Jr. of Warsaw led the Saturday 10 a.m. qualifying squad with lofty 956 totals and split the $25 bonus as the tournament’s high qualifiers. Gray finished with a 279 game (the event’s high game) but unfortunately suffered an arm injury in the second game of the semifinals and had to withdraw.
Also qualifying off the Saturday 10 a.m. squad were Pat Donaghue of Pittsford (914), Brian Weber (886), Matt Slocum of Perry (841) and Hyde (836).
Qualifying off the Saturday 2 p.m. squad were Shawn Better of Geneseo (924), Stefanik (889), Dana Nowak of Livonia (860) and Brady Weber (844).
Qualifying off the Sunday 10 a.m. squad were Pettinella, who led the squad with 820, followed by Culp (817), Dennis Van Duser of Perry (803), Mark Brown of Attica (793) and Wolff (791).
In the semifinals, Philp recorded 891, Stefanik 872, Brady Weber 807 and Brian Weber 794.
Donaghue had 787 to place sixth overall, followed by Better, Hyde, Pettinella, Nowack, Wolff, Brown, Van Duser, Slocum and Gray Jr.
Several bowlers topped the 700 mark in Genesee Region USBC league bowling action over the past week.
At Mancuso Bowling Center in Batavia, Chris Bailey led the way with a 279 third game for a 765 series in the Brighton Securities Tuesday Triples League.
Also at Mancuso's, Mark Brown had games of 258 and 256 in a 729 series in the County Line Stone Friday Trios League.
At Le Roy Legion Lanes, Rob Panepento and Rich Beschler set the pace with 735 and 707 series, respectively, in the American Legion Thursday Men's League, and at Rose Garden Bowl in Bergen, Harris Busmire and Steve Manczak posted 715 and 704, respectively, in the Wednesday Men's Handicap League.
A rare feat was accomplished in the Sunday Rolloffs League at Medina Lanes yesterday morning when Amy Lavender converted the 5-7-10 split.
Batavia made a game of it in the first half, but a talented Pittsford Sutherland team ran away with the game in the second half to deliver the Blue Devils, now 4-5, their second straight home loss, 62-37, on Friday.
Justin Smith and Gavin White each scored 12 points, and Carter Mullen scored 10.
The Blue Devils host Honeoye Falls/Lima at 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday.
Also on Friday:
To view or purchase photos, click here.
Photos by Steve Ognibene
Elba beat Byron-Bergen in Girls basketball on Thursday, 67-34.
With another big game, Sydney Reilly helped lead the way, scoring 28 points. Mariah Ognibene scored 17.
Elba is now 6-2 on the season.
Janessa Amesbury scored 16 points for the Bees.
Byron-Bergen falls to 3-4 on the year.
Photos by Debra Reilly.
For the third time in tournament history, Cal-Mum captured the Rotary Tournament crown on Thursday with a 46-40 win over Pembroke.
It's the first time the championship game did not include Batavia or Notre Dame (Notre Dame has won 15 times and Batavia has won nine, with Pavilion picking up the crown once).
For Cal-Mum, Halee Nickerson scored 14 points and was named tournament MVP. Shea Drazkowski scored 16 points.
For Pembroke, Peyton Liss scored 22 points.
Besides Nickerson, filling out the all-tournament team:
Drazkowski received the Ray Shirtz Award.
Photos by Tim Call.
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