The Batavia Blue Devils boys basketball team lost Thursday to Greece Olympia 64-47.
Javin McFollins and Tanner Mountain scored nine points each. Estavan Lovett and Sawyer Siverling scored six each.
Also in boys basketball, Notre Dame beat Lyndonville 83-56.
In girls basketball, Batavia beat Olympia 47-37. Jaylene Dersham scored 21 points and Julia Clark scored 10.
In what Head Coach Marc Staley called “our poorest effort of the year,” Batavia Notre Dame United – plagued by mistakes in its own zone and outshot by a more than two-to-one margin – dropped a 7-4 decision to Pittsford tonight in Section V hockey at the Batavia Ice Arena.
Sophomore Ben Norten scored three goals and assisted on another as the visiting Panthers broke away from a 2-2 tie with four goals in the second period to take a 6-4 advantage heading into the third period.
Pittsford, 4-3-1, fired 46 shots at BND goaltender Courtney Schum, while United could manage to put just 19 on Panthers’ goalie Aden Brown.
“This was our poorest effort of the year and we have to address that,” Staley said. “We have to come to play every night. And we didn’t execute tonight and they’re a fast team and a skilled team.”
Staley pointed to his team’s miscues in its own end that provided Pittsford numerous extra opportunities.
“We gave up too many pucks in our own zone -- sloppy play,” he said. “Pucks in the back of our net (given away). You can’t make mistakes against Class A teams that are good like this. And we made too many tonight, so we’ve got to tighten that up. And we will. It’s still early in the year.”
Pittsford had several chances to draw first blood but was unable to capitalize on a power play midway through the opening period.
When BND drew a pair of penalties at the 8:00 and 7:21, it came through with the two-man advantage -- with senior Gavin Schrader putting away a rebound at 6:59. Jameson Motyka and Zack Eschberger assisted.
The Panthers tied the score at 3:44 on a goal by sophomore Henok Hankinson (assisted by junior Will Masaschi) and took the lead less than two minutes later when junior Lucas Procious scored from close range, with Norten and Colin Norton assisting.
United rallied with a minute left in the period when Eschberger converted a pass from the speedy Schrader, who had raced down the left side of the rink past the defense.
Pittsford controlled most of the action in the second period, outshooting the home team 26-10. And it didn't help the United cause when defenseman Noah Hudson's skate blade broke, forcing him to miss most of the 17-minute session while correcting the situation.
Norten scored off a rebound of a shot by Norton at 13:22 and Masaschi buried the puck after an initial save by Schum at 12:09 to put Pittsford up 4-2.
Following a BND timeout, United cut the deficit in half as Schrader deflected a shot by Parker Corbelli past Brown at the 11:00 mark (Eschberger also assisted), but Pittsford came back 55 seconds later as sophomore Brady McMahon beat Schum to her glove side from a tough angle.
After Schrader hit the crossbar on a shot at 6:25, United pulled to within a goal again as senior Vin DiRisio found the back of the net after a nifty pass from Motyka.
Schum made a couple tough saves inside of three minutes, but was unable to thwart Norten at the 1:14 mark when he scored his second goal, assisted by Norton. The duo combined again to close out the scoring at 10:57 of the third period after United gave up the puck behind its own net.
Pittsford clamped down in the third period, holding BND without a shot on goal until 2:57 remained in the game.
Asked if he thought Pittsford had a deeper team and better skaters, Staley instead talked about United’s unforced errors.
“We scored one on ourselves. Those are the things we have to address; too many giveaways in our own zone,” he said. “And we need more balance. We’re relying on two few guys right now.”
Still, Staley said he saw it as a learning experience.
“It’s good for us to play against these teams to learn the level that we have to get to,” he said.
Schrader upped his goal total to 15 (to go with his 15 assists) while DiRisio’s goal was his 10th of the season.
United, 5-3, travels to the LECOM Harborcenter in Buffalo for games against Section VI opponents next week – at 7:15 p.m. Wednesday against Hamburg and at 1:15 p.m. Thursday against Frontier.
Photo at top: Batavia Notre Dame's Jameson Motyka avoids a Pittsford defender as goaltender Courtney Schum looks on. Photos at bottom: United's Parker Corbelli controls the puck as Pittsford's Lucas Procious converges; teammate Brady Johnson looks to maneuver past Pittsford's Keegan Ahern. Photos by Howard Owens.
A victory over Pittsford tonight would give Batavia Notre Dame a psychological lift through Christmas and snap a long Section V hockey drought against the suburban Rochester school.
“This is a very important game for us, psychologically, as it can get us to 6-2 heading into next week's tournament at the (LECOM) Harborcenter in Buffalo, and knowing that a Batavia team hasn’t beaten Pittsford since, I think, 1994,” Head Coach Marc Staley said this afternoon.
The game is set for 6 o’clock at the Batavia Ice Arena on Evans Street.
The Batavia Blue Devils were unable to defeat a Pittsford club when they met regularly in Monroe County League competition over the past three decades and, last year, Notre Dame dropped a 5-3 decision to the Panthers in the first round of the sectionals.
Batavia and Notre Dame combined forces prior to this season as "BND United" and has won five of its first seven contests. Pittsford is 3-3-1 but the record doesn’t indicate the overall strength of this year’s Panthers’ team, Staley said.
“This looks to be a dead-even game,” he said. “They have played against some very strong teams – Fairport, Massena and Penfield – and play a similar style to ours.”
On paper, United has more offensive firepower than Pittsford with five players in the top 10 in scoring among the six Independent teams. BND has scored 47 goals and given up 25 while Pittsford has scored 22 and allowed 22.
Senior Gavin Schrader is No. 1 in points with 13 goals and 14 assists, freshman Jameson Motyka and junior Ronin Hofmaster each have six goals and 11 assists, senior Vin DiRisio has nine goals and seven assists, and freshman Brady Johnson has seven goals and eight assists.
BND goaltender Courtney Schum has a 3.53 goals against average in her seven games.
The Panthers have three players with five goals apiece – senior Aidan McGrain, junior Lucas Procious and sophomore Henok Hankinson, while junior Will Masaschi has four goals and nine assists. Goalie Aden Brown has a 2.96 GAA.
Staley said both teams have solid power play units and it could come down to which team stays out of the penalty box.
“The team showing the most discipline likely will come out on top,” he said. “It shapes up to be a close game.”
The Oakfield-Alabama boys basketball team moved its season record to 4-0 with a 66-45 win over Attica on Tuesday.
Scoring:
Also in boys basketball on Tuesday:
In girls basketball:
Press release:
Middleport left-hander Brian Cline added another jewel to his illustrious bowling resume on Jan. 9 when he set a Medina Lanes record with an 847 series.
Cline, who has more than 40 800 series and around 60 perfect games, posted 279-269-299 in the Thursday Firefighters League. The previous record was held by Mike Lavender of Medina with 846.
Cline also held the record at Mancuso Bowling Center in Batavia with an 858 series in January 2018 until it was eclipsed by fellow lefty Rich Wagner's 899 last February.
In other action at Medina Lanes last week, Ray Neuman rolled 300 in the Wednesday Community League -- his second perfect game in three weeks -- and Mike Schepis fired 299--763 -- three days after registering 300--797.
At Mancuso Bowling Center, Batavian Mike Pettinella took top honors for the week with 238-290-266--794 series in the Turnbull Heating Doubles League.
Darleen Balduf rolled her third straight 600 series -- 623 -- in the Wednesday Night Ladies League at Mancuso's.
For a list of high scores around the Genesee Region USBC, click on the Pin Points tab at the top of the home page.
Sophomore Addison Warriner’s power play goal with six minutes and 11 seconds to play lifted Batavia Notre Dame to a 4-3 victory over Webster Schroeder this afternoon in the championship game of the Dave McCarthy Memorial Christmas Tournament at the Batavia Ice Arena.
Host United, now 5-2, prevailed in a fast-paced, well-played contest between evenly-matched Section V hockey clubs
The game featured only seven penalties, but one of those infractions proved to be the difference, however, when Warriors’ defensemen Matt Grattan was hit with a five-minute major for checking from behind at the 10:21 mark of the final period.
BND fired off several shots at Webster Schroeder goaltender Peyton Sanfilippo over the next four minutes before finally cashing in on a Warriner slap shot, with assists going to Jameson Motyka and Gavin Schrader, to break a 3-3 tie.
From there, United employed its neutral zone trap scheme and managed to keep the Warriors off the scoreboard.
United Coach Marc Staley mentioned his team’s all-for-one, one-for all approach when talking about the game-winner.
“The attitude in the locker room is just next man up. And that's what happened, we popped in Addison Warner there in the middle on the power play, and he scores the game winning goal,” Staley said. “And so, what I love about this team is that we have this deep bench. And if someone's not getting it done, we can just bring somebody in to take care of business.”
Freshman Brady Johnson stepped up in a big way as he registered a “natural hat trick” with three consecutive goals for United – two as BDN took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission and a third that erased a 3-2 deficit in the second period.
Webster Schroeder opened the scoring on a goal by Aiden Baldwin (assisted by Gunnar Bolton) at 14:45 of the first period. Johnson evened things up at 4:38 when he took the puck the length of the ice, broke through two defenders and found the back of the net, and put the home team on top at 1:15 after taking a pass from Ronin Hofmaster.
The Warriors responded in the second period on a power play goal by Evan SanSoucie at 16:27 and an even-strength goal by Bolton (assisted by Ryan Reeves) two minutes later to regain the lead at 3-2.
United bounced back once again as Schrader and Hofmaster worked the puck to Johnson at the point and his shot beat Sanfilippo at 10:33 to knot things up.
“Brady is just an incredible talent – a player who mixes great skill level with just a huge compete factor,” Staley said. “He just willed that first goal and that really gave our bench some life.”
Johnson, Schrader, defenseman Andrew Kasmarek and goaltender Courtney Schum were named to the all-tournament team for United, joining Warriors Alex Bollis, Baldwin and Sanfilippo.
They each received medals that were presented by Mike McCarthy and Brian McCarthy, father and brother, respectively, of Dave McCarthy, a standout athlete who was killed in a car accident in 2006.
United outshot the visitors 31-18, but Schum made several spectacular stops among her 15 saves, including a shot at point blank range by Bollis with 1:02 remaining to preserve the lead.
Staley recognized the performance by Schum, who has been filling in admirably for injured starter Frank Falleti Jr.
“She's been steady the whole year for us,” he said. “She makes the saves she's supposed to make and we know when we stay out of the penalty box and we don't give up odd man rushes, she’s going to do the rest for us. I'm very happy for her making the all-tournament team as she deserved it.”
BND, already without forward Cooper Hamilton (broken collarbone) until sometime in January, lost its co-captain, Zack Eschberger, midway through the second period when he was hit from behind into the boards. He reportedly was being evaluated for a concussion.
“I’m really proud of this team for gutting it out,” Staley said. “I mean we were down some of our key players tonight, for different reasons. And then we lost Eschberger, so we’ve got to figure out what his status is going forward as we have a big game against Pittsford (6 p.m. Thursday at Batavia Ice Arena) coming up this week.”
Photo at top: Batavia Notre Dame players gather round goaltender Courtney Schum after the buzzer sounds, marking their 4-3 win over Webster Schroeder. Photo at bottom: Players, coaches and tournament officials celebrate with a group photo. Photos by Mike Pettinella.
Senior winger Gavin Schrader scored three goals and freshman Brady Johnson tallied a pair of goals and three assists to lead Batavia Notre Dame to a 9-2 victory over Fulton in Friday night's opening round of the Dave McCarthy Memorial Christmas Tournament at the Batavia Ice Arena.
The victory puts United in the championship game at 3 this afternoon against Webster Schroeder, which defeated Bishop Timon, 10-0.
United, 4-2, scored twice in the first period, three times in the second and four times in the third as it outshot the Red Raiders, 50-20.
Jameson Motyka opened the scoring a minute and 46 seconds into the game (assisted by Parker Corbelli and Johnson) and Johnson made it 2-0 about two minutes later (assisted by Andrew Kasmarek and Motyka).
Kasmarek (assisted by Gino Falleti and Addison Warriner) gave BND a 3-0 cushion early in the second period before Nick Long answered for Fulton with 9:28 on the clock.
About four minutes later, Schrader – who now has 13 goals this season – converted a pass from Ronin Hofmaster before returning the favor, setting up Hofmaster for a goal with 1:40 left in the period. Alex Johnson assisted on Schrader’s goal and Zack Eschberger picked up an assist on Hofmaster’s goal.
In the third period, following a goal by Jameson Motyka (assisted by Brady Johnson), Schrader scored back-to-back power play goals with 11:47 and 9:42 on the clock. Motyka and Brady Johnson assisted on the first one, with Hofmaster and Eschberger assisting on the second goal.
Brady Johnson closed out the scoring with 8:04 left (assisted by Noah Whitcombe).
United goaltender Courtney Schum made 18 saves, including a stop on Fulton’s Nick Long on a breakaway midway through the first period.
Owen Dixon scored the other goal for Fulton, 1-5-2. Fulton and Bishop Timon will meet in the consolation game at noon.
Oakfield-Alabama beat Alexander in boys basketball on Wednesday night 54-38.
For the Hornets,
For the Trojans:
Photos by Kristin Smith. For more, click here.
Also, in girls basketball, Elba beat Wheatland-Chili, 49-36. Game write-up by Drew Muehlig:
Led by senior Dakota Brinkman, Elba defeated Wheatland-Chili 49-36 Wednesday night in Genesee Region girls basketball.
The senior baller notched a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Lady Lancers.
Elba also got strong performances from freshman Sydney Reilly (11 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists), senior Adrianna Long (5 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists) and sophomore Halie Deville (8 points and 6 rebounds).
Elba (1-2) led 29-13 at the half and led by as many as 19, but held off a valiant comeback effort by the Wildcats in the second half.
Chyene Whitcomb led Wheatland-Chili with 10 points and 3 steals despite being in foul trouble throughout the game. Thailaih Sainpaulin added three 3-pointers to finish with 9 points and Reghan LaMere added 6 points for Wildcats.
The Batavia Blue Devils overcame a first-half doldrums that left them trailing Greece Athena 34-21 to score 42 points in the second half, tying the score and sending the game into a double-overtime when Javin McFollins hit a three-pointer as the clock on regulation time expired.
McFollins finished the night with 18 points, hitting five three-pointers, including two in OT.
Carter McFollins also scored 18 points, Tanner Mountain scored 12, and Cam McClinic scored 10.
For Athena, Connor Osier scored 27 points.
Press Release by Tim Bojarski for Batavia Downs:
Batavia Downs completed their 2021 race meet on Friday (Dec. 10) and when all the columns were tallied, the track posted very strong wagering numbers over the course of the 55-day session.
The track had its third highest handle ever since Western Regional OTB reopened the track in 2002, with per-race betting up 17%. The increase was fueled by competitive racing on the track and two new wagers that were introduced for the first time this year: the Jackpot Pick-6 and Jackpot Super Hi 5 pentafecta. These bets drew the interest of the bettors by providing large carryovers throughout the meet, including the largest in track history ($25,599).
Having fans back in the grandstand this year impacted wagering in two ways. First, on-track betting at Batavia Downs was up 10% from 2019, as spectators were not allowed in 2020. But the extra live traffic sent the numbers at off-track locations down.
The WROTB locations -- including OTB outlets and Bataviabets.com -- saw betting decline 18% from 2020, which was expected. The 2020 number was an all-time record and a result of the exceptional amount of people who wagered online when patrons weren’t allowed at the track. This year, gamblers took their business back to the track and the numbers reflected it.
However overall betting versus 2020 was up $933,027 or 13%.
“We were happy to welcome back our fans and hold racing in front of a live audience again this year. The crowds were great all summer, driven by our Sunday Dollar Day matinees and our service staff in the clubhouse and on the apron did a great job all year,” said Todd Haight, General Manager/Director of Live Racing at Batavia Downs. “The new wagers, carryovers and guaranteed pools all drove our numbers and our horsemen kept the competition keen on the track. I was very proud of the effort everyone put in to make this meet a success.”
Henry Wojtaszek, President and CEO of Western Regional OTB which owns Batavia Downs Gaming and Hotel, was also happy with the results the track had and gave full credit to their associates for the successful year.
"I can't thank our racing fans enough for returning to the track after last year's hiatus. They came back in force and took full advantage of the great amenities we have here. Our newly acquired hotel was sold out on many occasions as a result of the great stay and play deals we offer. People once again enjoyed live racing, gaming, a multitude of concerts and events and all the great restaurant choices on site," said Wojtaszek.
"But none of it would be possible without our great staff that worked tirelessly all year to provide a great experience and I can't thank them enough. Todd (Haight) heads our racing department and he's done another outstanding job presenting and promoting that product, which in turn drove the increase in our handle."
Scott Kiedrowski, Vice President of Operations also lauded the staff and fans of live racing for a successful 2021 meet. He said “We are very grateful to have been able to roar back in 2021 with live racing here at Batavia Downs. Our customers truly are the backbone of our success as a race track here in Genesee County.”
With approval from the New York Gaming Commission, opening day for the 2022 meet at Batavia Downs will be Wednesday (July 20) and feature the New York Sire Stake 2-year-old trotting fillies. They will be only one of eight divisions visiting Genesee County next year to highlight the racing schedule along with the return of Batavia’s signature stake, the $60,000 Robert J. Kane Memorial Pace that will be raced on Saturday (Aug. 26).
The Le Roy HS boys cross country team did something no other cross country team has done in the history of the school this season: won a Section V title.
The team was honored at the start of the Le Roy Central Schools Board of Education meeting on Tuesday.
The team consisted of Erik Schwab, Aiden Soggs, Ian Kepple, James Blake, Cole Friedhaber, Kyle Northrup, and Andrew Greene.
Schwab had a fourth-place finish in the championship race and Soggs finished 8th.
In the girls' race, Charlotte Blake finished second overall, claiming her third sectional patch in the sport. She is one of the most decorated cross country runners in school history.
Erik Schwab, Andrew Greene, Ian Kepple, James Blake, and Charlotte Blake.
Updated 10 a.m.:
Senior winger Vin DiRisio registered a hat trick Tuesday night – with all three goals coming in his team’s six-goal second period – to lead Batavia Notre Dame United to a 10-1 victory over the WFL Panthers in Section V hockey at the Geneva Recreation Complex.
DiRisio upped his season total to nine goals, one behind senior line mate Gavin Schrader, as United raised its record to 3-2.
Last night, United unleashed 49 shots at a pair of WFL goaltenders – scoring twice in the first period, breaking the contest open with six in the middle period and twice in the third period. United goalie Courtney Schum stopped 21 of 22 shots, yielding WFL’s only goal early in the second period that cut BND’s lead to 2-1.
Senior Zack Eschberger, center on the first line with DiRisio and Schrader, returned to action and promptly put the visitors on the board at 3:54 of the first period, with assists from Schrader and junior Ronin Hofmaster.
"It was great having our co-captain Zack Eschberger back in the lineup for the first time this season," Coach Marc Staley said. "He gave us a really nice boost offensively with his energy and speed."
Schrader made it 2-0 eight minutes later on a power play goal with Hofmaster and DiRisio assisting.
Following a goal by the Panthers’ Lucas Springer early in the second period, BND took control with six goals over the next 11 minutes – the three by DiRisio and one each from Hofmaster, freshman Brady Johnson and Eschberger. Jameson Motyka had three assists and Noah Hudson two.
Schrader and Motyka rounded out the scoring with goals nine seconds apart in the first minute of the third period, with Eschberger and Johnson assisting, respectively.
"We controlled the puck very well as a team last night and our offense clearly can be lethal," Staley said. "There are still a number of things we need to tighten up on, however, in transition and in our own end."
For the season, Schrader has 10 goals and 10 assists, DiRisio nine goals and seven assists, Hofmaster five goals and seven assists, and Motyka four goals and seven assists.
Staley said his team will have to be sharp against strong competition at this weekend's Dave McCarthy Memorial Christmas Tournament at the Batavia Ice Arena.
"The Dave McCarthy Memorial Christmas Tournament has a great tradition of bringing in some of the best teams in the state. With Fulton, Webster Schroeder, and Bishop Timon coming in, I expect some great hockey to be played."
On Friday, Bishop Timon takes on Webster Schroeder at 6 p.m. and Batavia Notre Dame will face off against Fulton at 8 p.m. On Saturday, the consolation game is at noon and the championship game is at 3 p.m. Admission for all the games is $5 (the charge for seniors is $3). There is no charge for those 18 and under.
During the first have of the rival match-up between Notre Dame and Elba at Notre Dame, the Lady Lancers looked like a team rebuilding after losing four starters from last season's championship squad.
Elba trailed 17-8.
In the second half, the Lady Irish were outscored 19-12.
It wasn't enough for Elba, though, after Avelin Tomidy hit a game-winning shot with about 15 seconds left in the game. Elba wasn't able to answer and Notre Dame celebrated a nail-biter of a victory.
Tomidy finished with nine points. Maylee Green lead the Irish with 14 points.
For Elba, Laci Sewar scored 10 points.
Oakfield-Alabama beat Pembroke 74-46 on Monday night.
For the Hornets:
For Pembroke:
Photos by Kristin Smith. For more, click here.
Press release:
We are excited to have your school in the newly expanded Batavia Lions Club Tournament that now includes both a large and small school division. This year’s tournament is a 2-day affair with games on Tuesday, Dec. 28 and Thursday, Dec. 30. The only cost involved is two vouchers for the JV Tournament and one voucher for the Varsity to help cover the cost of having three officials on the Varsity games. This year Alexander replaces Perry and we are rotating the first-round matchups. More info will follow as we get closer to the basketball season.
The Batavia Lions Club is excited to have your team play in one of the best and longest-running Boys Basketball tournaments in Section V. The additional teams with their strong community support made this event even better than had been in the previously the past 2 years. There were great crowds which provided an exciting atmosphere for the student-athletes. Hoping for more of the same in December 2021!
Varsity Schedule JV Schedule
Tues Dec. 28 Tues Dec. 28
3:30 Roy-Hart vs LeRoy @ GCC Noon Roy-Hart vs LeRoy @ BHS
5:15 Elba vs O-A @ GCC Noon Elba vs O-A @ ND
7:00 Alexander vs ND @ GCC 1:30pm Alexander vs ND @ ND
8:45 Attica vs BHS @ GCC 1:30 Attica vs BHS @ BHS
Varsity Schedule JV Schedule
Thurs Dec. 30 Thurs Dec. 30
3:30 Large School Consolation @ GCC Noon Large School Consolation @ BHS
5:15 Small School Consolation @ GCC Noon Small School Consolation @ ND
7pm Small School Championship @ GCC 1:30 Small School Championship @ ND
9pm LargeSchool Championship @ GCC 1:30 LargeSchool Championship @ BHS
There will be a 15 minute warmup time for all games.
Photo: File photo from Lions Tournament in 2016
Just four years ago, Cory Russell of Bergen was a 151 average bowler in league competition at his hometown Rose Garden Bowl.
This season, the 36-year-old right-hander has improved to 186 -- thanks to this week's 756 series in the Thursday Owls League.
Russell bowled games of 243, 234 and 279 -- getting the first nine strikes before leaving a 4-pin in the final game -- on lanes 5-6.
In other action around the Genesee Region USBC, Batavian Tom Fluker raised his league-leading average to 236 in the Wednesday Men's Handicap League with a 718 series, which included a 289 game.
For a list of high scores, click on the Pin Points tab at the top of the home page.
Press Release by Tim Bojarski, president, Upstate New York USHWA
The Upstate New York Chapter of the United States Harness Writers Association has announced the horses of the meet for the 2021 racing season at Batavia Downs.
Pacer of the Meet: Art Scene (American Ideal-Lover Of Art)
Art Scene was a relatively new acquisition for trainer Maria Rice when he came to Batavia, after being claimed at Yonkers Raceway in mid-June for $25,000. But his new home track suited him just fine as he went on to have the winningest year of his career. While racing at Batavia, Art Scene won six Open paces and finished second twice out of his 13 starts in Genesee County and put $43,765 in the bank, making him the richest pacer on the grounds this year. He won his first start at the track and his last before shipping to Pompano for the winter and took his seasonal mark of 1:53.3 at Batavia in between.
Art Scene is owned by Vogel & Wags Nags, Team Rice Racing and Adelphi Bloodstock and is trained by Maria Rice.
Trotter of the Meet: Barn Hall (Conway Hall-Exotic Form)
It’s not too often a 3-year-old trotter can come in and not only compete with, but beat older Open campaigners, but Barn Hall proved it can be done. After racing successfully on the New York Sire Stake Excel A circuit all summer, Barn Hall settled in at Batavia and became a powerful top class performer for the entire meet. He hit the board 12 out of 14 starts, winning four and earning $42,092 which was the most won by any trotter at the meet this year. Plus he took his lifetime mark of 1:55 at Batavia after winning the Open trot in October.
Barn Hall is owned by Steve and Nancy Pratt, Wanda Polisseni's Purple Haze Stable and the Out In The Country Stable and is trained by Steve Pratt.
Mare of the Meet: Protect Blue Chip (American Ideal-Lucky Turn)
Protect Blue Chip surpassed all her previous career numbers this year and excelled in her 11 starts at Batavia Downs. She hit the board eight times, winning four Opens while finishing second and third twice each which netted her $35,142 in purses. Her best win time of 2021 was 1:54 taken at the Downs in September and it was also her fastest career win over any half-mile track. Plus this was the third consecutive year she took her seasonal mark at Batavia Downs.
Protect Blue Chip is owned by Vogel & Wags Nags, Team Rice Racing and Adelphi Bloodstock and is trained by Maria Rice.
Claimer of the Meet: Raksmach N (Mach Three-Raksplace)
Raksmach N also had the best year of his career in North America since landing here from New Zealand in 2018 and the bulk of his success came at Batavia Downs. During the meet he had six wins in only nine starts and earned $29,150 in purses. But he also paced the fastest mile of his life over a half-mile track on September 18 at the Downs when he scorched the oval in 1:52.3, winning by 5-1/4 lengths for driver Jim Morrill Jr. Five of Raksmach N’s six wins came in claiming races of $15,000 or higher.
Raksmach N is owned by Jeffrey Savidge and trainer Jennifer Giuliani.
The connections of these horses will be presented with their trophies in the Purple Haze Winner’s Circle at Batavia Downs on Saturday (Dec. 11) during UNY-USHWA’s Night of Distinction. Saturday is the final night of the meet and post time is at 5 p.m.
Photos by Paul White
Press Release by Tim Bojarski, for Batavia Downs
The management of Batavia Downs Gaming and Hotel and the Western New York Harness Horsemen’s Association have agreed to cancel live racing on Saturday night (Dec. 11), which was the last card of the 2021 season at Batavia Downs. This is because of concern for the safety of all the participating horsemen, horsewomen, horses and patrons due to the impending day-long forecast of near hurricane force winds of between 65 to 70 mph for all of western New York -- including Batavia.
"Over half the card of horses ship in and some from as far as Pennsylvania and Ohio. It's simply unsafe for trailers to be on the road with winds gusting up to 70 mph. And it's doubtful we could get the wings of the starting gates to consistently and safely close at the start of each race in this type of dangerous weather conditions,"said Todd Haight, Director/General Manager of Live racing at Batavia Downs. "
“Therefore after consulting with Bruce Tubin (President of the WNYHHA) on the situation, we decided it was in the collective best interest to err on the side of caution and safety and shut it down for the season. We want to thank our staff, horseman and horsewomen and all of our loyal fans for a tremendous racing season and look forward to reopening on July 20, 2022, pending New York Gaming Commission approval.”
Press Release by Tim Bojarski, president, UNY-USHWA
Photos by Paul White
Jim Morrill Jr. and Jennifer Giuliani have been named the top driver and trainer of the 2021 Batavia Downs meet that comes to a close on Saturday (Dec. 11).
Morrill had this title wrapped up at the halfway mark as he got off to a hot start in July and burned his way through November. Morrill finished the meet with 365 starts, 116 wins, 71 seconds and 46 thirds to post a stellar .468 UDR. Those 64% in-the-money finishes garnered his connections $714,074 in earnings making him the top earner as well.
Kevin Cummings finished second with 68 wins and $504,137 in purses and the meet's Rising Star Award winner Kyle Cummings was third with 50 wins and $394,862 banked.
Giuliani was in a tight race all year but came out on top with 41 wins, 24 seconds and 22 thirds out of 146 starts that produced $207,379 in earnings and a UTR of .422. Her horses hit the board 60% of the time and she also trained the Batavia Downs claimer of the meet, Raksmach N.
Maria Rice finished second with 40 wins and $311,602 in purses (which made her the highest earning stable on the grounds) and Gerry Sarama was third with 36 wins and $234,722 earned.
Jim Morrill Jr. and Jennifer Giuliani will be presented a trophy from the Upstate New York Chapter of the United States Harness Writers Association for their achievements but since Morrill has already started his winter break and Giuliani has relocated to Pompano Park for winter racing, these awards will be presented when they return for the 2022 Batavia meet next July.
Saturday is the final night of the meet and post time is at 5 p.m.
Press Release by Tim Bojarski, for Batavia Downs
Batavia Downs will close out the 2021 meet on Saturday (Dec. 11) and there is a full night of action, awards and Auld Lang Syne on tap.
First the action. There will be one guaranteed pool and one carryover and both will have mandatory payouts.
There is a $3,500 guaranteed pool in the Pick-5 wager in the first race and it will be part of the United States Trotting Association’s Strategic Wagering Program. And as a result, free program pages will be available courtesy of TrackMaster on the USTA’s website, the Batavia Downs website and Facebook page or by clicking this link (https://www.trackmaster.com/freeContent/usta/freeContentFiles/hpl/btv1211x.pdf). The Pick-5 is a 50-cent base wager that begins in race one and runs through race five. If all five winners aren’t picked, the most correct winners selected will be paid.
Then in race six, there is a carryover of $1,188 in the Jackpot Pick-6. That is a 20-cent base wager and it runs through race nine. And again if all six aren’t picked, the most correct selected will be paid.
And if you are attending live you can play the free Pick-6 contest for a chance to win $2,000. Just go to Players Club and get an entry blank and deposit it with your selections before the start of the fourth race. If you get all six winners correct, you will win $2,000. And since this is the last day of the meet this contest is a must pay as well. If no one picks all six winners, the person with the most winners selected will get $1,000. If there are multiple winners, the $1,000 will be split evenly among all correct contestants. Entry is limited to one per person.
Saturday is also the United States Harness Writers Association’s awards presentations during the Night of Distinction where all the top horses, horsemen and dignitaries will be honored. Honorees include President’s Award winner New York State Assemblyman Stephen Hawley, Unsung Hero Award winner Jami Chatt, Rising Star Award winner Kyle Cummings and all the top horses of the meet. Awards will start after the fifth race in the Purple Haze Winner’s Circle and run through race 10. These awards will be streamed live on the Batavia Downs YouTube channel.
Then after the last race the Batavia Downs tradition of closing the meet will continue with the playing of Auld Lang Syne as the lights go out on the track for the last time this year.
Free full card past performance program pages for Saturday and every live racing night at Batavia can always be downloaded at bataviadownsgaming.com under the live racing tab. And if you can’t attend live, you can still watch all the racing action via the Batavia Downs YouTube channel.
Post time for the first race is slated for 5 p.m.
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