Wrenn Jr., Cummings to battle at Buffalo

HAMBURG, N.Y. — Harness racing fans in Western New York are in for a treat Saturday night at Buffalo Raceway as defending United States dash driver Ronnie Wrenn Jr. comes to the Hamburg half-mile oval and will battle the red-hot Kevin Cummings in what is the best card of the 2015 season thus far.

 

Wrenn Jr., who had 847 victories last year to win the crown, is off to another excellent start in 2015. He sits in third place in the national dash standings with 144 victories. He trails leader Aaron Merriman who has 152 wins and Corey Callahan who has 145 victories.

 

In 2014, Wrenn Jr. was successful during his time at Buffalo Raceway. He produced 48 victories in 153 starts with $226,185 in earnings and a gaudy UDR of .467. Wrenn Jr. sports an overall UDR of .401 this season.

 

Cummings, who is the runaway leader in the Buffalo Raceway driver's standings with 63, is coming off a seven-win night on Wednesday. He is currently producing victories at a 30 percent clip.

 

In 211 starts in 2015, Cummings has 63 wins, 29 second place finishes and 34 show spots for a UDR of .429 which puts him 5th nationally. His closest rival locally is Billy Dobson with 45 wins, but he has returned to Saratoga Raceway. Cummings has earned over $250,000 in purses already this year.

 

Back on Friday, February 6th, Cummings scored his 3,000th career victory aboard Most Happy Rider and he's making a beeline toward 4,000 quickly.

 

Since the start of the 2014 season, Cummings has amassed 234 wins at Buffalo Raceway and 397 on the Western New York circuit. His nearest rival during that span is Ron Beback Jr. who has 164 victories.

 

Wrenn Jr. and Cummings will go head-to-head in 11 of 13 races Saturday night. Wrenn Jr. isn't scheduled to drive in the ninth and 13th races.

 

There's some great racing on tap as well with the $26,200 Niatross Knockout Claiming Series final set with One Chaser (Cummings) the morning line favorite at 2-1.

 

One Chaser, the 1-9 choice in last week's semi-finals, was stunned by Delightful Caitlin (Beback Jr.). One Chaser, however, had the fastest time in the series with a 1:57.3.

 

Besides One Chaser and Delightful Caitlin, the remaining field includes Dedalos (Drew Monti), Nora Lee (Greg Merton), It Was An Honor (Wrenn Jr.), Goddess's Justin (Jack Flanigen), Shaolin Master (John Cummings Jr.) and Jettison (Shawn T. Gray). The finals will go off as the 8th race.

 

The top four finishers in this race will return for a $25,000 Invitational later this season. They will go against the top four finishers in another Niatross Knockout Claiming Series which gets underway in a few weeks.

 

The racing begins on Saturday night at 6:35 p.m. with 13 events scheduled.

 

For more information including race replays, results, upcoming promotions and the latest news, go to www.buffaloraceway.com