Shine All The Way was the shining star

HAMBURG, N.Y. — Shine All The Way ($7.68) was the ‘shining star’ at Buffalo Raceway on Saturday afternoon (June 27) as he thumped the harness racing field by three lengths in the $14,700 Open Trot. Besides posting the impressive victory, he tied the aged (5+) gelding trotting mark of 1:56.0 at Buffalo Raceway also held by Fox Valley Veto (7/20/2018) and Valentine Express (7/19/2025).

It was also a stellar day for driver David McNeight III as he posted five wins on the program including steering Shine All The Way to the record-tying triumph.

In the $14,700 Open Pace, Lip Reader A ($3.04) returned to the top rank and proved the step up in class wasn’t an issue as he took a neck win over Trente Deo in 1:53.1 over the fast track.

Shine All The Way had his things his own way from the outset, firing off the gate early and taking command from the two post. After finishing second in two consecutive tries in the Open, things were about to change for the better for Shine All The Way.

Setting the fractions of :29.0, :59.1 and 1:27.2, Shine All The Way turned for home with a length lead and increased that advantage to three lengths at the wire as El Toro Loco (Kyle Cummings) and The Governor (Michael Whelan) had no answers and finished in second and third respectively.

Owned by Jason Seymour and trained by Dakota Jackson, it was the fourth victory in 19 starts on the year for Shine All The Way (Dontyouforgetit-Heres Holly). The decision increased his seasonal total to 444,814 and to $464,847 lifetime.

Lip Reader A (Drew Monti) used the inside post in the Open Pace, and was able to cut the mile with splits of :27.2, :55.2 and 1:24.1.

Turning for the wire, Lip Reader A had a length lead but Trente Deo (McNeight III) slowly cut into the margin but ran out of real estate, coming up just a neck short at the finish line. Captain Paradise (Shawn McDonough) was third.

Co-owned by Vogel & Wags Nags LLC and Team Rice Racing, Lip Reader A (Sportswriter-Strike Line) is conditioned by Maria Rice. The victory was the fifth in 15 attempts in 2026 and moved his bankroll to $49,530 on the campaign and to $388,157 lifetime.

Besides McNeight III and his big effort on the card, Brett MacDonald had three victories and Drew Monti two. Jackson topped the trainers with a couple of wins.

Racing will resume on Wednesday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. with a 12-race program scheduled. The New York Sire Stakes returns with the 2-year-old colt and gelding trotters in action with an eight pack to battle for $110,200. There is also a $20,000 Excelsior Series event for the freshmen male 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