Tulsa Bell extends winning streak

Batavia, NY — The $13,000 final of the Batavia Downs Winter Series trot was held at The Downs on Tuesday (Feb. 3) afternoon and Tulsa Bell (Dontyouforgetit) kept her winning streak alive as she took the harness racing title in fine fashion.

Andy Over (Ray Fisher Jr.) gained an early lead before yielding to stablemate Vondell Kemp (Jim McNeight Jr.) passing the quarter in :29.1. As they made their way around turn two, early action from behind saw an outer-flow grow with Gone Goodbye (Shawn McDonough) leading the way and Tulsa Bell (Kyle Cummings) following right behind.

When the field raced up the backstretch, Gone Goodbye bowed out, forcing Tulsa Bell to swing three-deep heading to three-quarters. But that didn’t affect Tulsa Bell, who marched to the front and drew even with Vondell Kemp as they battled into the final bend. The top two trotters matched strides to the top of the stretch where Tulsa Bell pulled away from Vondell Kemp while holding off a late surge from Andy Over to win by one-quarter length in 2:02.

It was the third consecutive win for Tulsa Bell ($4.50), who is owned by John Byler and trained by Tammy Cummings.

TULSA BELL REPLAY

Shawn McDonough was a busy man on Tuesday as both a trainer and driver during the program. He trained three winners consisting of Mingo Joel (2:00.4, $7.70) and Major Escape (2:02, $23.96), both of which he also drove, and Justine (2:00.3, $6.26) who was driven by Ray Fisher Jr.

Racing will resume at Batavia Downs for the last time this winter meet on Thursday (Feb. 5) and there are several things to note.

There are two more Batavia Downs Winter Series finals on tap, both on the pace and worth $11,000 and $14,000 respectively, and carded as races five and seven. Post time for the first race in 1 p.m.

Also, with no winner in the Jackpot Super Hi-5 pentafecta on Tuesday, there is a $1,511 carryover for that wager in the ninth race on Thursday and that pool will be guaranteed at $5,000 through the United States Trotting Association’s Strategic Wagering program. And since it’s the last day of the meet, it will also be a “must-pay” situation where the pool will be distributed. It also means free full past performance forms will be free to download (when available) at ustrotting.com under the Handicapping tab.

Free full card past performance programs for every live card of racing at Batavia can always be downloaded at The Downs’ website (bataviadownsgaming.com) under the “Live Racing” tab. Then you can watch all the races live as they happen for free on the Batavia Downs YouTube page

For complete race results, click here: US Trotting results.

by Tim Bojarski, for Batavia Downs