Denny Bucceri scores unconventional driving hat trick

Batavia, NY —  Tres Chic Bluechip (Heston Blue Chip) brushed late from off the pace to score a harness racing upset in the $12,800 Open I-II pace for fillies and mares at Batavia Downs on Monday (Sept. 1) afternoon.

Kevin Cummings got away fourth with Tres Chic Bluechip as Downtown Tonight (Jim McNeight Jr.) and Forgot Thewallet A (Joe Chindano Jr.) traded leads three times as they raced to the quarter in :27.4. Forgot Thewallet A finally settled on the lead and got the girls to the half in :57.4.

At that point, Rightfully Mine (Kyle Swift) pulled first-over and was followed by Tres Chic Bluechip as they motored up the backside. Forgot Thewallet A and Rightfully Mine continued to battle while all other horses were tightly placed as they entered the last turn. Halfway through that bend, Cummings tipped Tres Chic Bluechip off-cover, cleared at the top of the stretch and pulled away by 1-½ lengths down the lane to win in a season’s best 1:55.3.

It was the fifth win of the year for Tres Chic Bluechip ($17.60) who is owned by John Sixt and trained by Judy Blaun.

TRES CHIC BLUECHIP REPLAY

Tres Chic Bluechip was only one of three wins for Cummings during the afternoon.

Denny Bucceri scored a very unconventional driving hat trick on Monday. He won two races driving horses and one atop a ten speed bike in the 2025 renewal of the Batavia Downs Horseperson’s Bike Race. Eight drivers and trainers went postward in the one-eighth mile dash with “Denny Boo” shooting to the front, pulling away by 15 lengths and winning bragging rights for the next calendar year.

There were also eight other winners in that race, those being fans who selected Bucceri to win and then were randomly drawn to receive one of the eight new bikes used in the race.

The Batavia Bike Race was sponsored by Lawley Insurance, the Western New York Harness Horsemen’s Association, Wortzman Furniture, Wright Beverage Distributing and Wendy J. Photography.

Live racing resumes at Batavia Downs on Friday (Sept. 5) with post time at 6:00 p.m.

Then on Saturday (Sept. 6), Batavia Downs will host the New York Sire Stakes Night of Champions finals night with purses valued at $2.4 million.

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.

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

by Tim Bojarski, for Batavia Downs