Mercutio loves it at Buffalo Raceway

HAMBURG, New York —Mercutio (Pub Crawl-Frisky Magic) loves his new environment Buffalo Speedway as he recorded a resounding five-length harness race victory over Muskingum in the $10,400 Class A Trotting Friday afternoon (June 14).

After racing at Woodbine, Mercutio tried his luck at Buffalo Raceway for the first time on June 8 and found the winner’s circle with a 1-1/4 length decision in 1:57.3 in the Class B level He was therefore ready to try his luck a second time, but facing more difficult times in Class A.

Mercutio (Drew Monti) started from the inside post and easily ran through panels of :28.4, :59.2 and 1:29.0 on the fast track. Down the stretch, Mercutio pulled out all the stops and pulled away from Muskingum (Jim Morrill Jr.) while Captain Krupnik (Shawn McDonough) took over the show.

Trained and owned by Shane Arsenault, it was the third score in 19 attempts of the campaign for 5-year-old Mercutio. This victory increased his career earnings to $47,310 and $103,483.

Dougadougadew (Deweycheatumnhowe-Fashionablefilly) continued to climb the class ladder by rallying late to pass SS Tys Aflyin by a head in a career-best 1:58.3 in the $9,000 Class B trot.

On May 17, Dougadougadew (Kyle Cummings) won the Class D event, then moved to the Class C level. With a second place then a victory, he now finds himself in the Class B ranking.

After seeing Poets N Pirates (Kevin Cummings) achieve gaps of :29.3, 1:00.1 and 1:29.3, SS Tys Aflyin, sitting in the pocket, managed to take the lead from Poets N Pirates . But this advantage would quickly evaporate when Dougadougadew arrived at full speed on the outside and managed to get up in the shadow of the fence. SS Tys Aflyin finished second while Poets N Pirates held on to third place.

Owned by Doug and Tyra Ackley and trained by Tammy Cummings, it was the fourth win in 10 starts this season for 5-year-old Dougadougadew. This triumph brought his seasonal bankroll to $23,090 and $38,730 for life. He paid $8.50 to win.

Bet on Blake (Better quecheddar-Lady Lynnly) showed he was worth the gamble by scoring a solid victory over Bet Eightthirtyone by a length in 1:57.1 in the $9,000 Class B pace.

With Century Grizzly briefly taking the lead early on, Bet On Blake quickly moved to regain the upper hand. After posting spreads of :29.0, :59.1 and 1:28.2, Bet On Blake was ready to take on all challengers down the stretch.

But Bet On Blake (Kevin Cummings) was more than ready for the test as Bet Eightthirtyone (David McNeight III) and Better B Swift (Monti) failed to mount sustained charges.

Owned by Michael Torcello and conditioned by Samuel Smith, it was the fourth victory in 18 tries this year for the 6-year-old Bet On Blake. The win brought his 2024 earnings to $21,785 and $183,498 over his career. He paid $3.80 to win.

The races will continue on Saturday evening from 6 p.m. with a program of 12 races which will be presented. There is a $1,459 carryover in Pick 5 that begins in the second race.

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by Brian J. Mazurekfor the Buffalo circuit