R Royal Port out trots everyone in Open

HAMBURG, N.Y. — R Royal Port (Archangel-World Class Izzy) pulled into ‘port’ on time and scored a two-length victory over E Street in Buffalo Raceway’s $14,000 Open I-II Trot on Saturday evening (July 13). The time was 1:56.1 over the fast track and just missed tying the aged gelding harness racing trotting record by a fifth of a second.

The feature was named The William Richardson Trot in honor and in memory of the Buffalo Raceway President who passed away on June 26, 2024.

R Royal Port (Jim Morrill Jr.) has had two Open races under his belt since arriving from Canada and put it all together from the five post this time.

Battling with E Street in the early going, R Royal Port managed to reach the top in :29.1 and followed up the opening panel with splits of :59.0 and 1:27.3.

Turning for home, E Street stayed in the pocket while Arrakis and Valentine Express tried to sandwich the tempo setting R Royal Port. None had any answers though as R Royal Port smartly trotted home a winner by two lengths with E Street (Dan Yetman) hanging on for second and Arrakis (Joseph Chindano Jr.) was third.

Owned by La Ferme Tag Inc. and trained by Gerard Demers, it was the eighth victory in 20 starts for the 5-year-old R Royal Port. The win bumped his seasonal bankroll to $48,170 and $88,545 in his career. He paid $8.90 to win.

In the $12,200 Open II Pace, Stranger Things (Western Terror-Southwind Prairie) used a :27.3 in route to a half a length, gate to wire victory over Egomania in 1:54.1. Blazing Light (Kyle Cummings) was third.

Firing off the pylons, Stranger Things (Morrill Jr.) collected fractions of :29.3, :59.1 and 1:26.3. While the snappy fractions were in the books, Stranger Things used the :27.3 last quarter to keep Egomania (David McNeight III) from getting any closer than a length.

Co-owned by Kathy Schoeffel and James Reuther, the 8-year-old Stranger Things is trained by Angelo Nappo. The victory improved his 2024 earnings to $19,446 and $334,832 lifetime. He paid $3.20 to win.

The final week of live racing at Buffalo Raceway begins on Wednesday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. with 11 races going to the post. The New York Sire Stakes makes its final appearance of the year with a $106,300 race for the 2-year-old colt and gelding trotters. There will also be two $20,000 events in the Excelsior Series.

For more information including the latest news, upcoming promotions, entries, results and race replays, click here.

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

 by Brian J. Mazurek, for Buffalo Raceway