Mare pulls off 11-1 upset in Open

HAMBURG, N.Y. — It didn’t appear that a subtle move off the starting gate would make that much of a difference, but it sure did in Buffalo Raceway’s $12,200 Class A-Open Pace for the harness racing fillies and mares on Wednesday afternoon (May 15).

Arco N (Shadow Play-Special Harmony), starting from the eight post at odds of 11-1, was able to find a seat fourth in the early going and that helped her to get into perfect striking position later in registering a half a length victory over McNatural L in 1:56.1. The pace setting Imprincessgemma A took the show position.

Driver Drew Monti was able to squeeze Arco N from the outside into the four-spot going around the clubhouse turn while Imprincessgemma A showed the way through sensible fractions of :29.0, :58.3 and 1:27.3. But things started to heat up the rest of the way.

Arco N used a first over trip and got into the fray seriously turning for home. Soon, Imprincessgemma A (Billy Davis Jr.) was being attacked by both McNatural L (David McNeight III) and Arco N. Approaching the finish line, Arco N was able to push past Imprincessgemma A and held off the final thrust from McNatural L.

Co-owned by Vogel & Wags Nags LLC and Team Rice Racing, the 8-year-old Arco N is trained by Maria Rice. The triumph pushed her seasonal earnings to $23,060 and $84,283 lifetime. She paid $25.00 to win.

There were three $10,000 divisions of the Spring Up Series for pacers that were non-winners of $8,000 (mares $10,000) in 2024 and have at least 10 starts on the campaign.

Dakota Roadster ($3.30) was the quickest in the three races with a 1:56.1 as driver Joseph Chindano Jr., who tripled on the card, steered him to a 5-1/2 length victory. Chindano Jr. took another leg by scoring aboard R U Talkin ($15.40) in 1:57.1. Good Lookin Woman posted a $26.00 upset in 1:58.2 as Kyle Swift guided the mare to a 1-1/4 length win.

Racing will resume on Friday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. with 12 races set. There will be a pair of $11,000 events for the trotters in the Spring Up Series.

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by Brian J. Mazurek, for Buffalo Raceway