Buffalo Raceway to host freshman male trotters in NYSS

Buffalo Raceway has seen New York Sire Stakes champions and even a Breeders Crown titlist make their way to Western New York this season. But things are about to change this Wednesday afternoon (July 1) as eight unproven 2-year-old colt and gelding trotters will battle for a $110,200 bonanza in the New York Sires Stakes, which is scheduled for the fifth race.

With a big payday on the line, seven of the eight entrants have yet to start in a pari-mutuel race. The only one with a “real’ start is Uncle Rob (Met’s Hall-Jessica Con), who was a 5-3/4-length winner in 2:00.2 on June 18 at Harrah’s Philadelphia. Other than that, everyone has had one or two qualifiers in which to bank their hopes on in their initial career starts.

To make matters even more mindboggling for the handicappers, the eight pack had prep qualifiers at six different tracks, including Saratoga Raceway, Harrah’s Philadelphia, Vernon Downs, Pocono, The Meadows and Gaitway Farm. There are five who won their qualifiers and the other three had second-place finishes. So, to find a standout, one must look at the bloodlines, trainers and drivers.

As mentioned earlier, Uncle Rob had the lone start this far. It was a wire-to-wire victory as Tyler Miller steered him to the $3.40 win. He got post 2 for trainer Julie Miller, but with Andy Miller to grab the reins this time.

Others victorious in their qualifiers include Fools Game (Kyle Swift), Mormont (Dan Daley), Speaker Craig (Tyler Miller), Celebrity Dubai (Jason Bartlett) and Love Ain’t (Brett MacDonald). They hope their winning karma spills over into their first pari-mutuel starts.

Getting runner up finishes in their qualifiers but looking to break into the win column are Koufax (Cory Stratton) and Besta Blue Chip (Brett Beckwith).

The 12-race program is set for 2:30 p.m. (EDT). There will be a $20,000 Excelsior Series race for the freshman trotters and will go off as the seventh race.