Press release:
After a string of second-place finishes, Mugshots Bro finally visited the Purple Haze winner's circle after capturing the $13,500 Open I Handicap trot at Batavia Downs on a Friday night (Oct. 29) that featured wind, rain and sloppy track conditions.
Mugshots Bro (Shawn McDonough) exchanged leads early with Barn Hall (Kevin Cummings) but found himself on the point at the half and from there, the race was his. Lougazi (Ray Fisher Jr.) moved alongside on the rim and was prompting the pace on the second circuit but only stayed close to the top of the stretch. In the lane Mugshots Bro left the scene, trotting his final quarter in :28.4 and winning by three lengths in 1:56.4.
Mugshots Bro ($14.40) scored his seventh win of the year and pushed his earnings to $62,288 for owner Herman Niedhammer and Herman Niedhammer Jr. Shawn McDonough also trains the winner.
McDonough ended the night with two driving and two training wins to lead both categories on Friday.
The $12,100 Open II Handicap saw Willie B Worthy (Kevin Cummings) come from mid-pack late and catch Noble Legend (Jim Morrill Jr.) in deep stretch to win by 1-½ lengths in 1:58.2.
It was the sixth win of the year for Willie B Worthy ($15.60) who is owned by William Emmons and trained by Jim Closer Jr.
When live racing resumes at Batavia Downs on Saturday (Oct. 30) there will be one guaranteed pool and two carryovers on the betting menu.
With no winner of the Pick-5 on Friday (Oct. 29), there is a carryover of $1,060 and the management of Batavia Downs has announced that the track will offer a $4,000 guaranteed pool for that wager on Saturday (Oct. 30). The guarantee is part of the United States Trotting Association’s Strategic Wagering Program and as such, free program pages will be available courtesy of Trackmaster on the USTA’s website or at bataviadownsgaming.com under the live racing tab on Saturday morning.
The Pick-5 wager begins in race one and runs through race five. It is a 50-cent base wager and if all five winners aren’t selected, any carryover pool will be moved to the Pick-5 wager on the next day of racing.
Then there are two carryovers. First in the Jackpot Pick-6 in race four, there is a carryover of $803 and then later in race nine, the Jackpot Super Hi-5 has a carryover of $12,630.
Free full past performance program pages for all live Batavia Downs races can be downloaded at bataviadownsgaming.com under the live racing tab where free full card past performance programs are always available for every live racing night at Batavia Downs.
And if you can’t attend the races in person, you can still watch a live stream of the entire night’s action on the Batavia Downs Youtube channel.
Post time for the first race is 5 p.m.
