JD beats Pleaseletmeknow in $59,200 NYSS

Batavia, NY — The “Glamour Division” of the New York Sire Stakes was well represented on Wednesday night (July 27) at Batavia Downs as 14 top 3-year-old pacing colts and geldings bred in the Empire State lined up in two $59,200 harness racing contests.

The second division saw NYSS 2-year-old champion JD (So Surreal-Park N Orchard) look like he’s ready to defend that title as he went gate to wire in a victory over Messenger winner Pleaseletmeknow.

Mark Macdonald left like a shot for the lead with JD while the heavily favored Pleaseletmeknow (Braxton Boyd) also left from seventh and dropped in third. With everyone seated, Macdonald grabbed leather and backed down the second quarter to :29.4, forcing Pleaseletmeknow to come first up just past the three-eighths.

The two hooked up in turn three and matched strides in :27.2 to three-quarters, and then to the top of the stretch. But there, JD forged ahead and separated by 2-¾ lengths at the line and won in 1:52.4. Syracuse Express (Jim Morrill Jr.) passed Pleaseletmeknow for second.

It was the third win in a row for JD ($5.40) who is owned by his trainer Ray Schnittker along with George Zitone and Melissa Beckwith. Zitone also bred the pacer. He is now seven-for-20 lifetime with $260,349 in earnings.

In the first division, Seven Hundred (Hunstville-Exclamation) took advantage of a perfect trip to score his second NYSS victory.

Twin B Deluxe (Jason Bartlett) went right for the lead while Seven Hundred (Morrill) and Bounty Hunter (Jordan Stratton) tucked in behind for the journey. The horses remained in single file behind Twin B Deluxe through fractions of :27.3, :57.4 and 1:24.2 before rounding the final turn for home. It was there that Seven Hundred left the pocket, bolted past the tiring leader and held off a fast closing Roll With The Flow (Macdonald) to win by three-quarters of a length in 1:52.4.

SEVEN HUNDRED REPLAY

Seven Hundred ($9.70) is owned by Rick Berks and is trained by Jake Leamon. Blue Chip Bloodstock and Our Horses Sense Stable bred the winner. It was Seven Hundred’s fifth career win in 19 tries. He has earned $97,889.

Morrill ended the night with a total of four driving victories.

Live racing resumes at Batavia Downs on Saturday (July 30) with post time at 6:00 p.m. Free full past performance race programs for all live race days can be downloaded by visiting the track’s website and clicking the “Live Racing” tab.

For complete race results, click here.

by Tim Bojarski, for Batavia Downs