Skyway Ballistic blasts home for 55th career victor

Batavia, NY — Skyway Ballistic visited the Batavia Downs winner’s circle for the second time in five days after scoring the 55th win of his career in the $8,000 Class B pacing feature on Thursday (Oct. 22) night. 

Skyway Ballistic (Kevin Cummings) got away sixth as Bet On Buter (Chase Russo) marched on the point through fractions of :27.3 to the quarter and :56.3 to the half. At that point, Skyway Ballistic was out and rolling, second-over behind Woodmere Rollnpop (Dave McNeight III), until five-eighths when he tipped three-deep and settled behind Team Mac (Brett MacDonald), who was in the breeze and pushing Bet On Buter at three-quarters. Positions remained unchanged around the turn until Skyway Ballistic tipped three-deep yet again, barreled down the stretch and outpaced Team Mac and Snap Count (Ray Fisher Jr.) to the line where he won by one-quarter length in 1:55.4.

SKYWAY BALLISTIC REPLAY

It was the sixth win of the year for the venerable victor, Skyway Ballistic ($18.28), who is owned by El Dorado Stables and Mike Torcello, and trained by Alex Giuliani.

Kyle Cummings had a driving hat trick on Thursday while 12 different trainers each won one race apiece for the second night in a row.

Live racing will resume at Batavia Downs on Saturday (Oct. 24) at 5:00 p.m. and there is a lot going on that night.

Batavia Downs will host their live racing sponsor, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, and feature a fundraiser, “Harness of Hope”, in the clubhouse to help support cancer research there. For a $65 donation you will receive a delicious buffet, $35 in Free Play on the gaming floor and a live racing program. There will also be a live auction, a silent auction, a penny auction and basket raffle. All proceeds will benefit Roswell Park.

And plenty of opportunities for huge payouts will be available for the betting public. There will be a $5,000 guarantee (with a $1,149 carryover) for the Pick Five wager in the first race, made possible through the United States Trotting Association’s Strategic Wagering Program. And there also is a huge $23,662 carryover in the Jackpot Super Hi-5 pentafecta wager in the 12th race.

Free full card past performance programs for every live card of racing at Batavia Downs can always be downloaded at the track’s website (bataviadownsgaming.com) under the “Live Racing” tab. And you can watch all the races live as they happen for free on the Batavia Downs YouTube page.

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

by Tim Bojarski, for Batavia Downs