Buffalo Raceway opens simulcast center

HAMBURG, N.Y. — The start of the 2023 season at Buffalo Raceway will get underway on Wednesday, February 1 when the simulcast center located in the clubhouse opens for business with the live harness racing campaign getting into gear on Saturday, March 4.

The Buffalo Raceway simulcast area will be open Wednesdays through Sundays from 11:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. Those hours will expand when the live racing season begins.

Buffalo Raceway Marketing Coordinator Paige Usiak has been busy during the off season and promises an array of promotions throughout the season, for both simulcast and live racing. “We are going to be cooking this year with promotions,” she said. “We will be bringing back some of our most popular ones and adding some others.”

The simulcast center in February will have some great contests and more. Just to start on opening day, Buffalo Raceway will hand out free racing programs to all fans.

Then on Saturday, February 4 and Saturday, February 11, fans can enter the ‘Super Score Contest’ with a chance to win free wagers on Buffalo Raceway’s live opening night card. Correctly pick the final score of the ‘Big Game’ on Sunday, February 12, you’ll win $500 in free bets. Should you select the right score for one team, you’ll collect $100 in wagers and by just picking the right team to win the ‘Big Game’, you’ll get $5 in free bets.

The ‘Battle of the Best’ handicapping challenge returns once again and Usiak said, “We are having five stand-alone tournaments this season with both harness and thoroughbred events. The first one is on Saturday, February 25 with a thoroughbred contest. There is a $20 entry fee.” She added, “We’ve expanded the contest as well with a consolation bracket to go along with the finals.” All contest rules can be found on the newly redesigned website by clicking here.

And while plans are in place for the simulcast promotions in February, Usiak noted that the harness racing side of the ledger is falling into place nicely. “We are bringing back the always popular ‘Lucky Exacta’ contest with patrons getting a Buffalo Raceway baseball cap which will include an exacta combination. Also, we’ll have several food trucks coming in during the season along with chicken barbecues.”

More specific dates and promotions will be announced in the coming weeks.

The live racing season starts on Saturday, March 4 with post time 6 p.m. Buffalo Raceway will have a Wednesday, Saturday schedule during the first month. The track will add Friday racing to the calendar in April with post times reverting to 2:30 p.m. until the end of the season on Saturday, July 22.

by Brian J. Mazurek, for Buffalo Raceway