Mercutio is loving it at Buffalo Raceway

HAMBURG, N.Y. — Mercutio (Bar Hopping-Frisky Magic) is sure loving his new surroundings at Buffalo Raceway as he registered a blowout five length harness racing victory over Muskingum in the featured $10,400 Class A trot on Friday afternoon (June 14).

After racing at Woodbine, Mercutio tried his luck at Buffalo Raceway for the first time on June 8 and found the winner’s circle with a 1-1/4 length decision in 1:57.3 in the Class B level. So, he was ready to try his luck for a second time, but facing tougher times in the Class A.

Mercutio (Drew Monti) started from the inside post and easily coasted through panels of :28.4, :59.2 and 1:29.0 over the fast track. Down the home stretch, Mercutio put it into overdrive and pulled away from Muskingum (Jim Morrill Jr.) while Captain Krupnik (Shawn McDonough) took the show spot.

Trained and owned by Shane Arsenault, it was the third score in 19 attempts on the campaign for the 5-year-old Mercutio. The victory increased his earnings to $47,310 and $103,483 in his career.

Dougadougadew (Deweycheatumnhowe-Fashionablefilly) continued to rise up the class ladder by rallying late to squeeze past SS Tys Aflyin by a head in a career best in 1:58.3 in the $9,000 Class B trot.

Back on May 17, Dougadougadew (Kyle Cummings) took the Class D event and then stepped up to the Class C level. With a second-place finish and then a victory, he now found himself again up to the Class B classification.

After watching Poets N Pirates (Kevin Cummings) stomp out splits of :29.3, 1:00.1 and 1:29.3, the pocket sitting SS Tys Aflyin managed to wrangle the lead from Poets N Pirates. But that advantage would quickly evaporate as Dougadougadew caming zooming by on the outside and managed to get up in the shadow of the wire. SS Tys Aflyin finished a heartbroken second while Poets N Pirates held on for third.

Owned by Doug and Tyra Ackley and trained by Tammy Cummings, it was the fourth win in 10 starts on the season for the 5-year-old Dougadougadew. The triumph pushed his seasonal bankroll to $23,090 and $38,730 lifetime. He paid $8.50 to win.

Bet On Blake (Betterthancheddar-Lady Lynnly)showed he was worth a bet as he scored a solid length victory over Bet Eightthirtyone by a length in 1:57.1 in the $9,000 Class B pace.

With Century Grizzly taking the lead briefly off the gate, Bet On Blake quickly moved around to retake the top. After posting splits of :29.0, :59.1 and 1:28.2, Bet On Blake was poised to take on any and all challengers down the stretch.

But Bet On Blake (Kevin Cummings) was more than up for the test as Bet Eightthirtyone (David McNeight III) and Better B Swift (Monti) failed to mount any sustained charges.

Owned by Michael Torcello and conditioned by Samuel Smith, it was the fourth victory in 18 tries this year for the 6-year-old Bet On Blake. The win increased his 2024 earnings to $21,785 and $183,498 in his career. He paid $3.80 to win.

Racing will continue on Saturday evening beginning at 6 p.m. with a 12-race program to be presented. There’s a $1,459 carryover in the Pick 5 which begins in the second race.

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by Brian J. Mazurek, for Buffalo Raceway