{"id":55156,"date":"2024-07-25T15:03:03","date_gmt":"2024-07-25T19:03:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/?p=55156"},"modified":"2024-07-25T15:03:03","modified_gmt":"2024-07-25T19:03:03","slug":"genesee-county-live-racing-returns-to-batavia-downs-saturday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2024\/07\/25\/genesee-county-live-racing-returns-to-batavia-downs-saturday\/","title":{"rendered":"GENESEE COUNTY\/Live racing returns to Batavia Downs Saturday"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

File photo <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Tim Bojarski, for Batavia Downs<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Batavia, NY \u2014 Live harness racing returns to Batavia Downs on Saturday (July 27) as the 2024 summer\/fall season gets underway with a full 15-race card that starts at 6 p.m. The season runs through Saturday (Dec. 7) and features a 56-day meet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The opening night card includes the first visit of the year from the New York Sire Stakes as the 3-year-old pacing fillies will be on hand to compete in two $58,100 divisions. There will also be three Excelsior races going for $20,000 each, bringing the total stake purses available that night to $176,200. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The live schedule changes several times throughout the year. It starts out with a Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday schedule through August 17. Then it switches to Wednesday, Friday, Saturday through November 23 with the exception of Friday (Sept. 6) which will be dark due to the special Monday (Sept. 2) Labor Day matinee card starting at 1:15 p.m. The final two weeks of the meet cut back to Wednesday, Saturday. Post time for all race days — with the exception of the Labor Day matinee — will be at 6 p.m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once again, there is a hearty slate of New York Sire Stake action. The state-bred series will be in action on Saturday (July 27-$103,000 3-year-old filly pace), Wednesday (July 31-$103,000 3-year-old colt pace), Wednesday (Aug. 7-$93,000 2-year-old colt pace), Wednesday (Aug. 14-$93,000 2-year-old filly pace), Wednesday (Aug. 21-$93,000 2-year-old colt trot), Saturday (Aug. 24$103,000 3-year-old colt trot and $103,000 3-year-old filly trot) and Wednesday (Aug. 28-$93,000 2-year-old filly trot).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also on that NYSS double-header 3-year-old colt and filly trotting card on Saturday (Aug. 24) will be the Down\u2019s signature event, the Robert J. Kane Memorial Invitational pace that will go for $100,000 this year. Free Kane Pace T-shirts will be given away on that night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don Hoover, Director of Live Racing at Batavia Downs, looks to build on the record wagering that the track realized earlier this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am looking forward to the upcoming meet, anticipating that the momentum from the highly successful winter meet will continue for the remainder of this year. We set several betting records during our early year meet and hopefully we can keep that going during this session,\u201d said Hoover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking to drive that momentum is Tom Agosti, who recently joined the staff at Batavia Downs as the new race secretary. He will be responsible for putting together the competitive fields that will be featured throughout the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Agosti has established a new text line to relay vital information regarding draws and racing information for the upcoming meet. Horsemen and women can sign up for this service by texting bataviadowns to 732.363.7700. Subscribing to this service will be advantageous to all when it comes to filling races or having immediate knowledge of any changes in schedule. All are encouraged to do so as soon as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bettors will have plenty of opportunities with a wagering menu that includes three Doubles, 10 Exactas, 10 Trifectas, nine Superfectas, two Pick-3\u2019s, two Pick-4\u2019s, one Pick-5 and one Jackpot Super High Five available on every 10-race card.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All the top drivers will be back including last year\u2019s top five leaders Jim Morrill Jr., Kevin Cummings, Dave McNeight III, Kyle Cummings and James McNeight Jr.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leading trainers Sam Smith, Shawn McDonough, Dave Russo, Tammy Cummings, James Rothfuss and Ryan Swift will also be back along with a host of others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The clubhouse will be open for all race dates and offer a varied menu. Every Friday and Saturday will feature a buffet while the other race nights have a menu provided by the Center Street Smokehouse. The Railbar will always be open for live racing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Patrons will also have plenty of promotions to look forward to throughout the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On opening night there will be free programs in the grandstand and the Lotta Cash Giveaway, where customers can deposit non-winning tickets wagered on Batavia Downs races for a chance to win two $250 betting vouchers and a Batavia Downs Gaming Play and Stay package that includes one night\u2019s stay at the Batavia Downs Gaming Hotel, $25 in gaming Free Play and a $50 dinner certificate to Fortune\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Play and Stay promotion will also be held every Wednesday during the meet where customers can deposit non-winning tickets wagered on Batavia Downs races for a chance to win a Batavia Downs Gaming Play and Stay package that was previously described.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also on Wednesday is the Finale Frenzy promotion where you get $25 gaming Free Play when you wager $25 on the last race at Batavia Downs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And there is also the Early Bird Daily Double, where you receive $10 in gaming Free Play when you wager at least $10 at the same time on the Early Daily Double.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plus every live racing program includes a $5 gaming Free Play coupon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All promotions require participants be Players Club members and gaming Free Play is subject to required base points being earned before redemption. Full rules are available in the program and online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can watch all the live racing action for free on the Batavia Downs YouTube channel and free, full past performance programs for every live race night will be available on the Batavia Downs website (bataviadownsgaming.com<\/a>) under the live racing tab.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

File photo By Tim Bojarski, for Batavia Downs Batavia, NY \u2014 Live harness racing returns to Batavia Downs on Saturday (July 27) as the 2024 summer\/fall season gets underway with a full 15-race card that starts at 6 p.m. The season runs through Saturday (Dec. 7) and features a 56-day meet. \u2026<\/p>\n

Continue reading<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":55159,"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":[4491],"class_list":["post-55156","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-batavia","tag-batavia-down-opening-saturday"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8eTP4-elC","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":66376,"url":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2025\/07\/25\/genesee-county-7500-guaranteed-jackpot-hi-5-pool-at-batavia-downs-saturday\/","url_meta":{"origin":55156,"position":0},"title":"GENESEE COUNTY\/$7,500 guaranteed Jackpot Hi-5 pool at Batavia Downs Saturday","author":"aka","date":"July 25, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"By Tim Bojarski, for Batavia Downs Batavia, NY ---\u00a0Due to the cancellation of the February 24 card of racing\u00a0at Batavia Downs\u00a0that closed out the winter meet, there is a $4,250.57 carryover\u00a0pool in the Jackpot Hi-5 wager\u00a0that will be offered\u00a0in the 15th\u00a0race on Saturday (July 26) and\u00a0that\u00a0pool\u00a0will be a mandatory payout.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Genesee County"","block_context":{"text":"Genesee County","link":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/category\/genesee-county\/"},"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":55156,"position":1},"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 "Genesee County"","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":[]},{"id":44902,"url":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2023\/07\/24\/genesee-county-batavia-downs-kicks-off-second-season-on-wednesday\/","url_meta":{"origin":55156,"position":2},"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 "Batavia"","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, 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=700%2C400 2x, 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=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":26926,"url":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2021\/07\/21\/genesee-county-batavia-downs-live-racing-returns-opening-night-2021-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":55156,"position":3},"title":"GENESEE COUNTY\/Batavia Downs live racing returns, opening night 2021 photos","author":"aka","date":"July 21, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In "Batavia"","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\/2021\/07\/bd11.jpg?fit=1127%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/bd11.jpg?fit=1127%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/bd11.jpg?fit=1127%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/bd11.jpg?fit=1127%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/bd11.jpg?fit=1127%2C1200&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":55156,"position":4},"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 "Genesee County"","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":66415,"url":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2025\/07\/27\/genesee-county-photos-the-harness-race-season-kicks-off-at-batavia-downs-on-saturday-evening\/","url_meta":{"origin":55156,"position":5},"title":"GENESEE COUNTY\/Photos\/The harness race season kicks off at Batavia Downs on Saturday evening","author":"aka","date":"July 27, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Kyle Swift is all smiles with his horse Lana's Desire, after placing first in a very close first race of the 2025 Harness Racing season at Batavia Downs on Saturday evening. 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