Batavia Downs cancels final race card

Batavia, NY — The management of Batavia Downs Gaming and Hotel and the Western New York Harness Horsemen’s Association have agreed to cancel live harness racing on Saturday night (Dec. 11), which was the last card of the 2021 season at Batavia Downs. This is because of concern for the safety of all the participating horsemen, horsewomen, horses and patrons due to the impending day-long forecast of near hurricane force winds of between 65 to 70 mph for all of western New York — including Batavia.

“Over half the card of horses ship in and some from as far as Pennsylvania and Ohio. It’s simply unsafe for trailers to be on the road with winds gusting up to 70 mph. And it’s doubtful we could get the wings of the starting gates to consistently and safely close at the start of each race in this type of dangerous weather conditions, “said Todd Haight, Director/General Manager of Live racing at Batavia Downs. ”

“Therefore, after consulting with Bruce Tubin (President of the WNYHHA) on the situation, we decided it was in the collective best interest to err on the side of caution and safety and shut it down for the season. We want to thank our staff, horseman and horsewomen and all of our loyal fans for a tremendous racing season and look forward to reopening on July 20, 2022, pending New York Gaming Commission approval.”

By Tim Bojarski, for Batavia Downs