Batavia: Live harness racing returns Wednesday, July 22

All 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 hosts the first of 62 fast-paced cards of Standardbred competition scheduled to take place during the 2026 summer/fall season at the oldest lighted harness track in North America.

The six-month session will include the best overnight trotters and pacers in Western New York along with stake action, promotions, good food and a lot of fun.

Nicolle Fortes is the General Manager of Live Racing at Batavia Downs and she is eager to get her second year at the helm underway.

"We are thrilled to welcome fans, horsemen and horsewomen, and our community back for another exciting season of live racing. We've built a schedule and lineup of events and promotions that offer something for everyone, and we look forward to delivering an exceptional racing experience throughout the season. We have a good horse population as our stable area is 30% fuller than last year and that’s good for competitive racing,” said Fortes.

Byron Brown, President and CEO of Western Regional Off Track Betting, is equally enthused to have the season begin. 

"We are extremely excited for the start of another season of great harness racing at our historic track. One of the highlights of this meet will be the return of Sunday matinee racing and brunch in our Clubhouse. I look forward to seeing all of our loyal fans and as always I want them all to love winning at Batavia Downs," said Brown. 

This year’s schedule starts with a Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday rotation that will run through the middle of August. Then it switches to Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday for the remainder of the year. All post times will be at a new, earlier 5 p.m., except for all four Sunday summer matinee cards, Labor Day (Sept. 7) and Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples Day (Oct. 12), which will all be at 12:15 p.m.

The New York Sire Stakes will be making eight stops at The Downs this year. Those races will be held on Wednesdays from July 22 to September 2 and on Saturday August 22. On that Saturday, Batavia Downs will also host its signature race, the $50,000 Robert J. Kane Memorial Pace. This race annually draws some of the finest Open class pacers in North America and was the impetus of the all-time track pacing record of 1:50 2/5 in 2022.  

The wagering menu remains the same as in previous years. On a 10-race program, besides win, place and show in every race, there will be three daily doubles, 10 exactas, 10 trifectas, nine superfectas, two Pick-3’s, two Pick-4’s, one Pick-5 and one Jackpot Super High Five, all with low minimum wagers.

Western New York’s top drivers and trainers will all be returning, led by Batavia Downs driving champion for the last two years, Drew Monti, along with Joe Chindano Jr., Kevin Cummings, Dave McNeight III, and Kyle Cummings, who rounded out the top five from last year.  

Returning training leaders will be headed by The Down’s three time champion Sam Smith, who will be looking for the grand slam this season. Challengers to him will include Shawn McDonough, David Russo, and Maria Rice, who also finished first-five last season. Jennifer Petrelli will be a new stable racing at Batavia on a regular basis this season.

Batavia Downs will continue to provide free downloadable full past performance racing programs on the website at bataviadownsgaming.com under the live racing tab. The Batavia Downs YouTube channel will also furnish free live streaming of all the races every night.

Opening night promotions include the first visit of the New York Sire Stakes and free printed past performance forms for those in attendance at the track. All WROTB Branches will also provide free printed past performance forms on Wednesday (July 22) and Saturday (25).

Other promotions this year include a free T-shirt giveaway on Saturday (Aug. 22) during the Kane Memorial card.

For more information on all events taking place at Batavia Downs this year, please log on to our website at bataviadownsgaming.com or our Facebook page at facebook.com/bataviadownsracetrack.

-edited release (Tim Bojarski for Batavia)