By Tim Bojarski, for Batavia Downs
(Photos courtesy of Wendy J. Lowery)
Batavia, NY — Lanjo Lee and El Toro Loco starred in co-features at Batavia Downs during the Sunday (July 26) afternoon matinee, and both were leading men from gate to wire.
The $13,500 Open pace came first and Lanjo Lee turned in his fastest performance of the year.
Kyle Cummings sent Lanjo Lee to the front from post three and took the field to the half in a tepid :58.1. But the pace was about to quicken when Lip Reader A (Drew Monti) came calling in the breeze and paced alongside Lanjo Lee at three-quarters. The two matched strides around the bend, but Lanjo Lee had the swifter foot by the time they reached the stretch. After putting away Lip Reader A, Lanjo Lee bolted home under no urging whatsoever from Cummings and won by 2-¾ lengths in a season’s best, 1:53.4 mile that featured a :55.3 last half and :27.3 final quarter.
It was the fifth win of the year for Lanjo Lee ($7.76), who is owned by Gordon Swift and trained by Tammy Cummings.
The next race was the $13,500 Open Handicap trot where El Toro Loco clearly exerted his dominance.
El Toro Loco was given the go from Shawn Gray and the pair took up residency on the point, where Gray sat chilly for the rest of the race that never seemed in doubt. With HP Maestro (Denny Bucceri) sitting a loose pocket, El Toro Loco glided through fractions of :29, :59.2 and 1:27.4, while widening his lead to 2-¾ lengths at that point. After coming off turn four, Gray merely swished El Toro Loco’s tail to let him know he wasn’t finished yet and the trotter responded by motoring home ahead by three open lengths in 1:57.2. It was also the fifth win this year for El Toro Loco ($5.42) who is the top trotter from the Mike Torcello stable. Sam Smith trains the gelded son of Walner-Southwind Cabaret.
Shawn Gray, Brett Macdonald and Drew Monti were top drivers for the afternoon with three wins apiece on Sunday while Dave Russo, Sam Smith and Walter Whelan topped all trainers with two tallies each.
Live racing will resume at Batavia Downs on Wednesday (July 29) at 5 p.m.
Free full card past performance programs for every live card of racing at Batavia Downs can always be downloaded at the track’s website (bataviadownsgaming.com) under the “Live Racing” tab. And you can watch all the races live as they happen for free on the Batavia Downs YouTube page.
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Batavia Downs Entries
Sunday Jul 26, 2026 Post Time:12:20 PM
FIRST RACE: CLASS D $5,000 Pace
1 Timeto Communicate (B Macdonald) 2-3-4 7-2
2 Risky Dude (K Cummings) 3-3-4 3-1
3 Why Tomorrow Ray (A Monti) 1-1-2 2-1
4 Lets Go Balze (M Whelan) 4-7-7 15-1
5 Initial Concept (S Gray) 5-8-7 12-1
6 Tymal Envoy (J Cummings) 6-2-3 4-1
7 Im Already Gone (J McNeight) 7-6-6 15-1
SECOND RACE: CLASS B $8,000 Pace
1 Colton’s Charm (M Baumeister) 2-4-5 7-2
2 Yankee Clout (M Whelan) 1-2-X 4-1
3 One Corona To Go (S Gray) 3-5-2 5-2
4 Stonebridge Wizard (A Monti) 4-3-7 2-1
5 Caviart Val (R Fisher) 6-6-3 12-1
6 Mcpleasant (J Cummings) 5-7-1 15-1
7 Rockette Baby (B Jackson) 7-5-1 15-1
THIRD RACE: CLASS C $6,500 Pace
1 Snouze U Louze (M Baumeister) 2-5-3 2-1
2 Mister Miami (S Gray) 1-2-2 9-1
3 Dry Ridge Ace (B Macdonald) 6-7-2 7-2
4 Bolt Power (K Cummings) 5-7-7 15-1
5 Checkonwilliam Gb (K Swift) 3-6-5 4-1
6 Connor B (A Monti) 4-6-2 9-1
7 Dine With Kings (R Fisher) 7-4-1 15-1
8 Twist Knot (J Chindano) 8-1-8 6-1
FOURTH RACE: CLASS B $8,000 Pace
1 John The Baptist (S Gray) 2-1-4 5-2
2 Bottle Rocket (M Whelan) 1-4-2 6-1
3 Pointomygranson (K Swift) 3-7-4 7-1
4 Bold Speed (J Chindano) 4-5-3 10-1
5 Mach Le More A (B Macdonald) 5-1-3 3-1
6 Ideal Artillery (D Bucceri) 6-4-1 15-1
7 Viva Las Vegas N (A Monti) 7-3-3 12-1
8 Final Game (W Tomaszewski) 8-1-6 9-2
FIFTH RACE: CLASS A $9,500 Pace
1 Stonecold Cruiser (A Monti) 1-1-3 2-1
2 Fernetti N (D McNeight) 2-1-1 3-1
3 Born A Rebel (K Swift) 3-5-6 6-1
4 Bryant Seelster (M Baumeister) 4-1-2 5-1
5 Tiger Baron (J Chindano) 5-5-5 8-1
6 Human Cocktail (B Macdonald) 7-1-4 7-1
7 Thor De Vie (M Whelan) 6-1-6 15-1
8 Kilowatt Kid N (S Gray) 8-3-5 15-1
SIXTH RACE: CLASS AA $11,000 Trot
1 Infinity Stone (B Macdonald) 1-5-8 2-1
2 Uncle Archie (J Chindano) 2-5-8 6-1
3 Rough Tuff Tested (J McNeight) 3-6-7 9-1
4 Amigo Mio (A Monti) 5-4-1 12-1
5 Makes Me Charlie (M Baumeister) 7-5-5 5-2
6 Valentine Express (S Gray) 6-2-6 5-1
7 Crazy Fool (K Cummings) 3-5-2 7-1
SEVENTH RACE: OPEN $13,500 Pace
1 Trente Deo (D Bucceri) 3-5-5 7-1
2 Total Stranger (J Cummings) 6-1-6 7-2
3 Lanjo Lee (K Cummings) 1-2-4 5-2
4 Lip Reader A (A Monti) 2-3-2 3-1
5 Saulsbrook Victor (B Macdonald) 4-9-1 3-1
6 Davey Day Trader (S Gray) 5-4-1 10-1
EIGHTH RACE: OPEN $13,500 Trot
1 Malibu Kid (L Stalbaum) 4-1-2 4-1
2 Cotton Candy Cutie (A Monti) 7-3-6 12-1
3 El Toro Loco (S Gray) 1-4-1 5-2
4 Hp Maestro (D Bucceri) 5-1-2 12-1
5 Dougadougadew (K Cummings) 2-2-4 9-2
6 Crazy Ritz (J McNeight) 3-3-2 7-2
7 Shine All The Way (D McNeight) 6-1-5 5-1
NINTH RACE: CLASS AA $11,000 Pace
1 Sugar Shock (M Whelan) 5-1-2 5-2
2 Venier Hanover (A Monti) 4-4-1 2-1
3 Thunder Country (R Fisher) 3-7-2 15-1
4 I Aint No Mack (B Macdonald) 1-2-4 9-5
5 Brookdale Seb (D McNeight) 6-7-4 8-1
6 Soul Assassin (K Swift) 2-4-4 15-1
TENTH RACE: CLASS C $6,500 Pace
1 Wicked Sport (J Chindano) 6-5-6 5-1
2 Crystal Beach (S Gray) 2-4-3 8-1
3 Contact Zone (A Monti) 1-1-2 9-5
4 Scrub Hanover (D Bucceri) 4-4-5 15-1
5 Hurricane J (W Tomaszewski) 5-6-7 7-1
6 Twenty Five (J McNeight) 3-5-4 5-2
7 Boom Town Boy (D McNeight) X-1-2 12-1
ELEVENTH RACE: OPEN II $12,200 Pace
1 Luck Is Up (B Macdonald) 1-3-7 2-1
2 Ontop Rainman (M Whelan) 2-2-8 4-1
3 Fantome En Joie (J McNeight) 6-7-6 7-2
4 Shoobee Doo A (K Swift) 5-5-3 5-2
5 Odds On Anubis (R Fisher) 4-6-3 12-1
6 Villiam (J Chindano) 3-3-2 7-1
TWELFTH RACE: CLASS D $5,000 Pace
1 Ideal Catch (W Tomaszewski) 3-2-3 6-1
2 Rock Me Always (S Gray) 3-4-3 2-1
3 Sportsmanship (M Baumeister) 8-4-4 7-1
4 Bold Bet (M Whelan) 4-8-7 15-1
5 Reggie Desbi (K Cummings) 7-5-3 15-1
6 The Downtown Bus (D McNeight) 5-8-6 7-2
7 Shark Solicitor (A Monti) 6-1-5 15-1
8 Darbie’s Ideal (R Fisher) 1-3-2 10-1
9 Century Grizzly (B Macdonald) 5-6-5 7-1