{"id":80247,"date":"2026-09-04T22:46:25","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T02:46:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/?p=80247"},"modified":"2026-09-04T22:46:25","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T02:46:25","slug":"batavia-downs-gears-up-for-labor-day-weekend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2026\/09\/04\/batavia-downs-gears-up-for-labor-day-weekend\/","title":{"rendered":"Batavia Downs gears up for Labor Day weekend"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Press release\/provided photo<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Labor Day traditionally marks the end of the summer season and Batavia Downs is planning on helping it go out with a bang with a full slate of racing and activities scheduled all weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Byron Brown, President and CEO of Western Regional Off Track Betting, is very much looking forward to this great weekend of entertainment for the entire family and hopes to see many of them at the track during this final holiday of summer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRacing takes center stage at Batavia Downs Gaming & Hotel over the Labor Day weekend with our annual Vets Night at the Races on Friday night and then a special matinee day of racing on Monday. I encourage everyone to come out and enjoy a fun day at the races with everything we have to offer as we continue to make Batavia Downs the premier entertainment destination in Western New York,\u201d said Brown. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Saturday (Sept. 5), Batavia Downs will host its annual \u201cVet’s Night\u201d, which combines honoring all those who served in the military with a fundraiser to help support them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For $40 you will receive a full Italian buffet, a $2 horse betting voucher, $15 in Free Play for the gaming floor and a free live racing program that has an additional $5 Free Play inside. $12 from every dinner ticket sold will go towards the Monroe County Veteran’s Court Mentors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There will also be many great items up for bids in a Silent Auction and Penny Auction, both of which will be held on-site. All proceeds from both auctions will also go towards the Monroe County Veteran’s Court Mentors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check-in starts at 3 p.m. with post time for the first race set at 4 p.m. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saturday’s card of racing includes two $13,500 Open Handicap races as part of the 11- race card. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then on Labor Day Monday (Sept. 7), The Downs will continue its long-standing tradition of matinee racing with a full card set to go at 12:15 p.m. and also includes many activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The annual Batavia Downs harness driver\/trainer bike race is a tradition that goes back to 1977 at Batavia and will once again be held this weekend. Eight local drivers and trainers will go behind the starting gate to race bicycles after the seventh race. Fans attending the races can select their favorite driver or trainer to win and if they do, those people will be entered to win one of the eight bicycles used in the race. Winners must be 18 years of age and provide proper I.D. Entries are limited to one per person. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bike race is sponsored by Lawley Insurance, Wendy J Photography and Ortiz Home Services <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There will also be another great food offering in the clubhouse. For only $30, you will get a half chicken bar-b-que dinner that includes Mac salad, red potatoes, roll and butter and either a can of pop or water. Plus you will also get $15 in Free Play on the gaming floor and a $5 horse betting voucher. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The clubhouse opens at 11:30 a.m. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Press release\/provided photo Labor Day traditionally marks the end of the summer season and Batavia Downs is planning on helping it go out with a bang with a full slate of racing and activities scheduled all weekend. Byron Brown, President and CEO of Western Regional Off Track Betting, is very \u2026<\/p>\n

Continue reading<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":80249,"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":[8,23],"tags":[376],"class_list":["post-80247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-batavia","category-genesee-county","tag-batavia-downs"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8eTP4-kSj","jetpack-related-posts":[{"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":80247,"position":0},"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":46699,"url":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2023\/09\/05\/genesee-county-undertaker-i-got-the-looks-tops-on-labor-day-at-batavia\/","url_meta":{"origin":80247,"position":1},"title":"GENESEE COUNTY\/Undertaker, I Got The Looks tops on Labor Day at Batavia\u00a0","author":"aka","date":"September 5, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"By Tim Bojarski for Batavia Downs (Photos courtesy of Wendy J. Lowery) Batavia, NY \u2014 A trifecta of $10,000 mid-level conditioned events topped the bill at Batavia Downs on Labor Day Monday (Sept. 4) as the summer heat returned to Genesee County.\u00a0 The initial two features were trots and the\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\/09\/I-Got-The-Looks.jpg?fit=1022%2C681&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/I-Got-The-Looks.jpg?fit=1022%2C681&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/I-Got-The-Looks.jpg?fit=1022%2C681&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/I-Got-The-Looks.jpg?fit=1022%2C681&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":66298,"url":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2025\/07\/23\/genesee-county-positive-change-abounds-as-batavia-downs-opens-2025-racing-season-saturday\/","url_meta":{"origin":80247,"position":2},"title":"GENESEE COUNTY\/Positive change abounds as Batavia Downs opens 2025 racing season Saturday","author":"aka","date":"July 23, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"By Tim Bojarski, for Batavia Down (Photos provided by Batavia Downs) Batavia, NY --- As the 2025 summer\/fall harness racing season at Batavia Downs\u00a0gets underway on Saturday (July 26), a new era at the oldest lighted harness track in North America will begin as the facility itself celebrates 85 years\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\/Track-resurfacing-at-Batavia-Downs-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Track-resurfacing-at-Batavia-Downs-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Track-resurfacing-at-Batavia-Downs-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Track-resurfacing-at-Batavia-Downs-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"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":80247,"position":3},"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. 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