All-age trot record rewritten at Buffalo

HAMBURG, N.Y. — Hopefully Buffalo Raceway harness racing officials have fast drying ink for the record book.

After Deswanslittlelorie set the all-aged trotting record at Buffalo Raceway this past Saturday night with a 1:55.3 time, Wild Bill Kelso (Crazy Wow-Broadway Joe Ell) came to town on Wednesday afternoon (July 19) and tied that mark with a length victory in a New York Sire Stakes event for the 3-year-old colt and gelding trotters.

As impressive as that was, Chapercraz (Crazy Wow-Chaperess) and driver Ronnie Wrenn Jr. wasn’t going to be outdone.

Within 90 minutes of Wild Bill Kelso’s etching of his name into the record book, Chapercraz came along with a huge eraser and posted an eye-popping 1:54.2 time in his $57,000 division of the New York Sire Stakes for the sophomore male trotters to take the all-aged trotting mark.

The clocking by Chapercraz obliterated Wild Bill Kelso’s newly minted all-aged time of 1:55.3 by over a second. It also set the Buffalo Raceway standard for the 3-year-old gelding trotters of 1:56.1 set by Gural Hanover back on June 29, 2014

It was only the second career victory for the gelded Chapercraz. The victory pushed his seasonal earnings to an astounding $238,152 in 10 outings in 2023 after just making $4,772 in one start in 2022.

Chapercraz ($2.10) had absolutely no issues in pounding the field into submission. Quickly gaining the lead, Chapercraz put up fractions of :29.1, 57:3 and 1:25.4 over the lightning-fast track. Owning a 10-length advantage at the top of the stretch, Wrenn Jr. just let Chapercraz do his thing and breezed to a 13-3/4 length victory over You Got It (Niko Karna) while Expresso (Tyler Miller was third.

Owned by the Burke Racing Stable, Weaver Bruscemi and Phillip Collura, Chapercraz is trained by Ron Burke.

In the first division for the males, it appeared Wild Bill Kelso ($2.50) was going to be the star of the day. Racing to a big five length advantage to the opening quarter mile in 28.4, Wild Bill Kelso (Jim Morrill Jr.) then put up fractions of :57.0 and 1:26.1 but had Onion Gum hounding him in the pocket. Things remained status quo however as Wild Bill Kelso held back Onion Gum (Jordan Stratton) by a length while Some Kinda Crazy (Marcus Miller) collected the show position.

The time of 1:55.3 put Wild Bill Kelso in the record book temporarily but eventually she would have to be happy with the $27,950 first place check. The win was the second in six attempts this season for the gelded Wild Bill Kelso. Owned by the Runthetable Stables, he is trained by Jim Campbell.

The two divisions of the New York Sires Stakes for the 3-year-old fillies were as drama filled.

Woolco (Chapter Seven-Upside Hanover) took the first leg as she watched as All The Rage (Stratton) set the tempo with times of :28.3, :58.3 and 1:28.3. The chalk in the meantime, Usosweet, was on a break and lost any hope from the beginning.

Hitting the final marker, Morrill Jr. had Woolco first over on the rim and eventually reached the lead, beating Pride N Joy (Karna) by a half a length in 1:58.0 with All The Rage settling for third.

Owned by the Hero Stables and trained by Robert Krivelin, it was the third win in four attempts for Woolco. The score jacked her 2023 bankroll to $53,500 and $161,924 lifetime. She paid $12.20 to win.

The other $56,000 (approx.) division for the damsels saw Point Reyes (E L Titan-Sausalito) and driver Ronnie Wrenn Jr. stalk the pace setting On The House (Marcus Miller) just about the entire mile before nudging past in the shadow of the wire to collect the $16.50 upset by a nose in 2:00.1. Bourbon On Ice (John Stark Jr.) was third.

Notching splits of :29.2, 1:00.0 and 1:30 .3, On The House battled every step of the way but eventually lost out to Point Reyes by a mere nose in the photo finish.

Co-owned by Tom Vassiliou and Nicholas Tallarico, Point Reyes is conditioned by R Nifty Norman. The victory was the second in seven appearances this year for Point Reyes, now a winner of $43,065 on the campaign and $100,290 lifetime.

In the two $20,000 Excelsior Series events for the male sidewinders, Met Your Request ($4.40, 1:58.2) and Seven Sins ($15.60, 1:58.1) were victorious while on the ladies’ side, Serendipity ($5.20, 1:58.1) and Destiny’s Darling ($4.40, 1:58.3) all made trip to the winner’s circle.

The final two cards of the 2023 season at Buffalo Raceway are set for Friday and Saturday. The 13-race program on Friday begins at 2:30 p.m. while the finale on Saturday gets underway at 6 p.m. with another 13-race card slated.

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

by Brian J. Mazurek, for Buffalo Raceway