By Tim Bojarski, president, UNY USHWA
The final weekend of racing at Batavia Downs kicks off on Friday (Dec. 14) and although 26 more races are yet to be contested, there are two that have already been settled.
The dash winning driver and trainer for the 2018 meet are Drew Monti and JD Perrin.
The 24-year-old Monti put together another stellar year in the bike; to date starting 560 times, winning 115 races, finishing second 89 times and third 72 times.
Those starts earned his connections $686,305 in purses and earned himself a Universal Driver Rating (UDR) of .337.
Those numbers were solid additions to Monti’s overall figures for the year where he has 252 wins, 194 seconds and 174 thirds out of 1,260 starts with more than $1.52 million in earnings and a UDR of .332.
JD Perrin (inset photo, below left) won the training title at the Downs three straight years from 2014-2016 making this his fourth title at the track.
With 192 starts, Perrin trainees have won 55 times with 31 seconds and 19 thirds giving him a Universal Trainer Rating (UTR) of .409.
His stable banked $298,248 for the session.
Perrin’s annual numbers show 442 starts yielding 126 wins, 68 seconds and 51 thirds earning his group $633,623.
Also, Perrin currently ranks fourth in North America for UTR among trainers with less than 500 starts this year.
Drew Monti and JD Perrin will receive their trophies in the Purple Haze Winner’s Circle at Batavia Downs after the 12th race on Saturday night (Dec. 15).
Also on Saturday night, there are many opportunities for the fans to take advantage of before the lights go off for the last time this year.
The $20,000 final of the Dash for the Holiday Cash series is the feature event and goes as the sixth race.
There is a free Pick-6 contest with a mandatory payoff of $1,000.
The Pick-6 starts in race four and runs through race nine.
Entry blanks can be picked up at Players Club and can be deposited with your selections prior to the start of the fourth race.
Entries are limited to one per person.
The Pick-6 is cosponsored by the Western New York Harness Horsemen’s Association.
Then there will be a random drawing from all the Pick-6 entries to win 10 “Driver of the Meet” Drew Monti bobble heads and 10 official Dan Patch Awards baseball caps.
Ten winners will be drawn and each will receive both prizes.
The bobble head and baseball cap give away is sponsored by the Upstate New York Chapter of the United States Harness Writers Association (USHWA) and TAG Jewelers.
Friday night (Dec. 14) is the UNY USHWA Night of Distinction awards presentations at Batavia Downs that will take place in the winner's circle between races. Post time on Friday is 6 p.m.
