By Tim Bojarski, for UNY USHWA
The Upstate New York Chapter of the United States Harness Writers Association (UNY USHWA) has named the top driver and trainer of the 2019 meet at Batavia Downs and will present each with a trophy between races in the Purple Haze Winner’s Circle at Batavia Downs on Saturday night (Dec. 14).
The driver of the meet was Billy Davis Jr. (top photo)
Davis started driving on a regular basis at Batavia Downs in 2016 and finished a strong third last year with 99 wins. This meet Davis started fast, maintained his momentum throughout, demolished the competition and in the end captured his first Batavia Downs driving title.
Davis currently has a total of 127 wins, 48 more than the second place Jim Morrill Jr. who pulled the pin for the year on the first day of November. Those wins along with 101 seconds and 82 thirds out of 621 starts have earned him a Universal Driver Rating (UDR) of .341 for the meet and $839,581 in purses. The earnings total is a new track record for a single meet exceeding the standard of $802,528 set be Jim Morrill Jr. 13 years ago in 2006.
For 2019 in its entirety, the 33-year-old Davis has won 270 races, pocketed $1,846,243 in loot and his UDR of .320 was the best of his career.
The trainer of the meet was James Clouser Jr. (above photo)
Clouser has been conditioning horses at Batavia since 2014 and has twice finished second in the standings in 2015 and 2018. This year Clouser took command early and stayed on top the entire meet to capture his first Batavia Downs training title.
With a strong stable of horses anchored by owners Burke Racing/Weaver Bruscemi and William Emmons, Clouser posted 50 wins, 29 seconds and 37 thirds out of 214 starts for a UTR of .367 and $352,910 in earnings. That income total is the second highest ever recorded at the Downs behind Kim Asher’s $505,624 in 2017.
For the calendar year overall, the also 33-year-old Clouser has won 270 races and $775,359 in purses. He is also nearing his 500th career training win (currently at 482) and the $3 million earnings plateau.
Batavia Downs and UNY USHWA congratulate both men and all their connections.
(Photos courtesy of Paul White.)
