Davey Day Trader grabs an upset victory

HAMBURG, N.Y. — Davey Day Trader ($28.79) used a big move down the long Buffalo Raceway home stretch on Saturday afternoon (July 11) to spring the upset victory over Lip Reader A in the $14,700 Open Pace. He used a seasonal best of 1:54.2 over the fast track to post the triumph.

After two straight wins in front running style from the rail, the pylon sitting Lip Reader A (Drew Monti) was heavily favored for a repeat effort. It all started out perfectly for him as gained the front end with fractions of :29.0, :57.3 and 1:26.2.

But things were about to change heading around the final turn. Davey Day Trader was able to follow the live cover from I Aint No Mack and swing three-wide down the stretch. While Lip Reader A looked strong, Davey Day Trader (Shawn T. Gray) had just too much momentum and used a :27.3 final panel to get the job done and collect the neck victory. Lip Reader A was a heart-breaking second while Woodmere Rollnpop took the show spot.

Co-owned by James Costa and Peter Kibler, Davey Day Trader (Huntsville-Gigi Deo) is trained by David McNeight Jr. The win was the sixth in 18 appearances for Davey Day Trader, pushing his seasonal earnings to $46,821 and to $230,433 lifetime.

The $14,700 co-featured Open Trot wasn’t nearly as dramatic as El Toro Loco ($5.40), after three consecutive in the money finishes, finally completed the task at hand with a front-stepping half length decision over Crazy Ritz in 1:57.4.

Getting involved in a three-wide battle for the lead with Crazy Ritz (James McNeight Jr.) and Starlitcresentroll (Wade Tomaszewski), El Toro Loco (Kevin Cummings) managed to gain control of the lead with splits of :28.2, :59.1 and 1:29.0.

In the drive to the wire, El Toro Loco managed to keep his grip on the lead as Crazy Ritz battled to the wire but came up a half length short. Starlitcresentroll managed to keep a hold of third place.

Owned by Michael Torcello and trained by Samuel Smith, it was the fourth victory in 14 starts on the season for El Toro Loco (Walner-Southwind Cabaret). The win jacked his 2026 bankroll to $49,189 and to $365,418 in his career.

Gray completed the afternoon with a triple while Cummings and Monti had two each.

The final three live racing days for the 2026 season at Buffalo Raceway begins on Wednesday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. with a 13-race card scheduled. The New York Sire Stakes makes its final stop of the campaign at the Hamburg half-mile oval as the 2-year-old filly trotters to collide in a pair of (approx.) $55,000 races each. The program will open with two $20,000 events in the Excelsior Series for the freshman ladies sidewinders.

For more information including the latest news, upcoming promotions, entries, results and race replays, go to www.buffaloraceway.com

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

by Brian J. Mazurek, for Buffalo Raceway