Batavia Downs

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It was an honor and privilage to watch Joe Gerace at Batavia Downs Gaming this past Saturday night. 

Joe spoke after the 7th race and being awarded for the "2008 Italian-American of the Year".  Many Batavia residents, friends and family members gathered in celebration of Joe receiving his award.  Joe thanked the love of his family, god and everyone who knew and supported him. 

Here is a picture of Joe and his wife Lois just before entering the Batavia Downs.  For more pictures of Joe receiving the award:  Pick up your own copy of the Daily News at local newsstands. Or, better yet, subscribe at BataviaNews.com.

HarnessLink reports that local barber Joe Gerace will be honored August 23 at Batavia Downs as "Italian-American of the Year."

This is the first such award given by Batavia Downs, and HarnessLink says the gaming facility and race track is planning other ethic awards this year.

The life-long Batavia native is the 2008 Humanitarian of the Year for United Memorial Medical Center and the Jerome Foundation, 2006 City of Batavia Volunteer of the Year, Genesee County Chamber of Commerce Genesian of the Year in 1993 and was honored for his community service by the Paolo Busti Foundation Scholarship Committee.

The active 72-year-old grandfather of six is the former president of the Batavia Youth Bureau, co-chair of the Genesee County Cancer Society's Festival of Hope, a director of the Batavia Muckdogs (where he is also on the team's Wall of Fame), member of the Batavia Rotary Club and St Nick's Social Club and sat on the City of Batavia zoning board of appeals for 12 years.

Also a licensed realtor and military veteran, Gerace and his wife, Lois, have been married 48 years and are the parents of three grown children.

That's an impressive resume.

Just found on YouTube, a video of the July 31 Weiner Dog race at Batavia Downs.

HarnessLink contains a post from Batavia Downs marketing manager Todd Haight about Weiner Dog races on the  track, but no mention of date or time for the event.

We do learn that last year's winner, Rudy, will be back to defend his crown.

From the Daily News (Friday):

• Genesee County "officials" told reporter Paul Mrozek that the investigation into the murder of Janet Kirkup will focus on Darien or Pembroke. Robert Kirkup recently confessed to the murder of his wife, Janet, during a cross-country trip in 1992, and it is believed that her body is buried somewhere near a campsite in Darien. Genesee County District Attorney Lawrence Friedman said that the cause of death "may be strangulation." The search for the body has not yet begun.
• Batavia Downs celebrated the grand opening of its new restaurant, Grandstands, on Thursday. Reporter Tom Rivers was there to get some color and chat with the officials about the Downs' continued success. In a sidebar to the story, it's reported that the Downs recently warranted a check from the state for $286,274, "money that will be used to offset some proerty taxes." It sounds as if the money goes to the communities: to the county, the city and the town. The city is supposed to get nearly $500,000, and the town should receive a little more than $175,000. I wonder how that works. Where does that money come from? Tom Rivers and Paul Mrozek write that the state gives money to "host communities with video gaming centers." Doesn't that sound strange? Hey, community, good job promoting gambling, here's some cash to do with what you please. Am I being too cynical or misunderstanding this?
• "Officials" from Genesee and Orleans counties had "the beginning of a discussion" about potentially creating a regional jail. It seems people are interested in talking about it, but little else is really decided at this point.

For the complete stories, the Daily News is available on local newsstands, or you can subscribe on BataviaNews.com.

Not homeless for long, the Genesee Country Farmers Market signed a contract with Batavia Downs to set up shop in its parking lot for the summer season.  The market was told by Kmart a couple weeks ago that it could no longer use its parking lot, which had been home for the farmers for about a decade.

Offers to host the market poured in from all over the community — and some towns nearby.

"We were probably offered every parking lot in Batavia," says Paul Fenton, the market's director. "We had a ton of input on this. The community support was tremendous."

In the end, Batavia Downs, at 8315 Park Road, offered the market the best deal — proximity to the old site and a vigorous promotional backer. The market will be open from 8:00am to 5:00pm starting June 10 and closing for the season on October 31.

Says Fenton: "You'll see a lot more promotional stuff, a lot more giveaways. We're going to double our giveaways. And the Downs will help us with a few of those things."

Call (585) 343-9491 for more information.