{"id":18584,"date":"2020-07-30T00:38:04","date_gmt":"2020-07-30T04:38:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/?p=18584"},"modified":"2020-07-30T00:38:04","modified_gmt":"2020-07-30T04:38:04","slug":"batavia-opening-of-the-2020-race-season-at-batavia-downs-a-quiet-one-with-no-spectators-in-attendance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2020\/07\/30\/batavia-opening-of-the-2020-race-season-at-batavia-downs-a-quiet-one-with-no-spectators-in-attendance\/","title":{"rendered":"BATAVIA\/Opening of the 2020 race season at Batavia Downs a quiet one with no spectators in attendance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"900\" height=\"507\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/369h04chQKg?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 2020 race season opened at Batavia Downs on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With only owners on hand to watch the action and 22 employees from the Downs making it all happen, it was a rather quiet night. Last year the Downs had about 1500 spectators on hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Opening night for us, we normally see people we haven&#8217;t seen in eight months, and to be quite honest with you, its just not as exciting not seeing our fans. I&#8217;ve been getting texts all day, I wish I was there, and we wish you were here too and we are going to do everything in our power to get the fans back as soon as we can. We have very loyal racing fans, some people have been coming here since the 70s and we can&#8217;t wait to get them back,&#8221; says Todd Haight, Director &amp; GM of Live Racing at Batavia Downs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"18589\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2020\/07\/30\/batavia-opening-of-the-2020-race-season-at-batavia-downs-a-quiet-one-with-no-spectators-in-attendance\/still-race-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/still-race-2.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1920,1080\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"still-race-2\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/still-race-2.jpg?fit=900%2C506&amp;ssl=1\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/still-race-2.jpg?fit=900%2C506\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-18589\" width=\"656\" height=\"369\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/still-race-2.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/still-race-2.jpg?resize=300%2C169&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/still-race-2.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/still-race-2.jpg?resize=768%2C432&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/still-race-2.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/still-race-2.jpg?resize=150%2C84&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/still-race-2.jpg?w=1800&amp;ssl=1 1800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 656px) 100vw, 656px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There were 13 races scheduled for opening night. Post time on Friday is at 5:00p.m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wagers can be made at OTB or EZ -Bet locations or online at Bataviabets.com <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"18590\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2020\/07\/30\/batavia-opening-of-the-2020-race-season-at-batavia-downs-a-quiet-one-with-no-spectators-in-attendance\/still-race-3\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/still-race-3.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1920,1080\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"still-race-3\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/still-race-3.jpg?fit=900%2C506&amp;ssl=1\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/still-race-3.jpg?fit=900%2C506\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-18590\" width=\"669\" height=\"376\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/still-race-3.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/still-race-3.jpg?resize=300%2C169&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/still-race-3.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/still-race-3.jpg?resize=768%2C432&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/still-race-3.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/still-race-3.jpg?resize=150%2C84&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/still-race-3.jpg?w=1800&amp;ssl=1 1800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 669px) 100vw, 669px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Batavia Downs Hotel is also open for anyone looking to book a balcony suit to watch the race action.  The Live Racing schedule can be found at Bataviadownsgaming.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The 2020 race season opened at Batavia Downs on Wednesday night. With only owners on hand to watch the action and 22 employees from the Downs making it all happen, it was a rather quiet night. Last year the Downs had about 1500 spectators on hand. &#8220;Opening night for us, \u2026<\/p>\n<p class=\"continue-reading-button\"> <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2020\/07\/30\/batavia-opening-of-the-2020-race-season-at-batavia-downs-a-quiet-one-with-no-spectators-in-attendance\/\">Continue reading<i class=\"crycon-right-dir\"><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18588,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18584","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-batavia"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8eTP4-4PK","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":38762,"url":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2023\/01\/06\/genesee-county-batavia-downs-starts-2023-with-a-17500-guarantee-monday\/","url_meta":{"origin":18584,"position":0},"title":"GENESEE COUNTY\/Batavia Downs starts 2023 with a $17,500 guarantee Monday","author":"aka","date":"January 6, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"By Tim Bojarski, for Batavia Downs (Photo of Jim McNeight Jr. prepping for the meet courtesy of Wendy Lowery) Batavia, NY \u2014 It has been decades since Batavia Downs hosted a winter race meet at the oldest lighted harness track in North America, but that all changes on Monday (Jan.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Batavia&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Batavia","link":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/category\/gennesse-county\/batavia\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Snow-4.jpg?fit=1200%2C1103&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Snow-4.jpg?fit=1200%2C1103&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Snow-4.jpg?fit=1200%2C1103&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Snow-4.jpg?fit=1200%2C1103&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Snow-4.jpg?fit=1200%2C1103&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":44902,"url":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2023\/07\/24\/genesee-county-batavia-downs-kicks-off-second-season-on-wednesday\/","url_meta":{"origin":18584,"position":1},"title":"GENESEE COUNTY\/Batavia Downs kicks off second season on Wednesday","author":"aka","date":"July 24, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"By Tim Bojarski for Batavia Downs (Photo of Kevin Cummings, 2022 leading dash driver, by Wendy J. Lowery) Batavia, NY --- For the first time in two decades, Batavia Downs will hold their second opening day card of the year when the Genesee County oval welcomes back the horsemen, horsewomen,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Batavia&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Batavia","link":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/category\/gennesse-county\/batavia\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Kevin-Cummings-2022-Photo-by-Wendy-J-Lowery.jpg?fit=1200%2C514&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Kevin-Cummings-2022-Photo-by-Wendy-J-Lowery.jpg?fit=1200%2C514&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Kevin-Cummings-2022-Photo-by-Wendy-J-Lowery.jpg?fit=1200%2C514&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, 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&quot;Batavia&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Batavia","link":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/category\/gennesse-county\/batavia\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/294728761_5561952967190942_4993887756819139858_n.jpg?fit=1200%2C626&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/294728761_5561952967190942_4993887756819139858_n.jpg?fit=1200%2C626&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/294728761_5561952967190942_4993887756819139858_n.jpg?fit=1200%2C626&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/294728761_5561952967190942_4993887756819139858_n.jpg?fit=1200%2C626&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/294728761_5561952967190942_4993887756819139858_n.jpg?fit=1200%2C626&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":66471,"url":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2025\/07\/29\/genesee-county-batavia-downs-opener-sees-29-increase-in-handle-over-2024\/","url_meta":{"origin":18584,"position":3},"title":"GENESEE COUNTY\/Batavia Downs opener sees 29% increase in handle over 2024","author":"aka","date":"July 29, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"File photo-July 26, 2025 By Tim Bojarski, for Batavia Downs Batavia, NY --- When Batavia Downs kicked off its 2025 summer\/fall session of live racing on Saturday (July 26), there was a notable increase in live attendance and the amount of money that bettors placed on races held at Batavia,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Genesee County&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Genesee County","link":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/category\/genesee-county\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/VideoCapture_20250726-195042-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C736&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/VideoCapture_20250726-195042-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C736&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/VideoCapture_20250726-195042-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C736&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/VideoCapture_20250726-195042-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C736&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/VideoCapture_20250726-195042-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C736&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":38467,"url":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2022\/12\/17\/genesee-county-batavia-downs-cancels-for-weather-after-five\/","url_meta":{"origin":18584,"position":4},"title":"GENESEE COUNTY\/Batavia Downs cancels for weather after five","author":"aka","date":"December 17, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"By Tim Bojarski for Batavia Downs Batavia, NY \u2014 Closing day at Batavia Downs was cut short on Saturday (Dec. 17) after heavy snow quickly deteriorated track conditions through the early part of the card. Then it was determined after the fifth race that for the safety of everyone involved,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Batavia&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Batavia","link":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/category\/gennesse-county\/batavia\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":77304,"url":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2026\/07\/20\/genesee-county-live-harness-racing-returns-to-batavia-downs-on-wednesday\/","url_meta":{"origin":18584,"position":5},"title":"GENESEE COUNTY\/Live harness racing returns to\u00a0Batavia Downs\u00a0on Wednesday","author":"aka","date":"July 20, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"By Tim Bojarski, for Batavia Downs (Photo courtesy of Wendy J. Lowery) Batavia, NY ---\u00a0All the preparations are complete and the anticipation to see the horses go behind the gate is high as live harness racing is set to return to Genesee County on Wednesday, July 22 when Batavia Downs\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Genesee County&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Genesee County","link":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/category\/genesee-county\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Behind-The-Gate-for-2026.png?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Behind-The-Gate-for-2026.png?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Behind-The-Gate-for-2026.png?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Behind-The-Gate-for-2026.png?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Behind-The-Gate-for-2026.png?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/still-race.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18584","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18584"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18584\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18591,"href":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18584\/revisions\/18591"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18584"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}