by Brian J. Mazurek, for Buffalo Raceway
HAMBURG, N.Y. --- Driver Shawn Gray used two different
methods in the co-featured $8,500 conditioned paces for the fillies and mares
and got the desired results Wednesday night at rainy Buffalo Raceway (March
25).
Ugly Betty ($3.20) needed every inch of the race track to
nip Basic Survival in the opener while Sadies Place ($3.70) got to the front
end at the quarter pole and cruised from there to complete the chalky $8.70
early daily double.
It was just the start of a good night for Gray as he
finished the card with four victories.
After battling against the boys the past two weeks,
finishing a respectable second and fourth, Ugly Betty showed she's still
'looking good' when facing the girls.
Basic Survival (Jack Flanigen) zoomed right to the lead and
put up fractions of 31.2, 101.1 and 1:30.2. Ugly Betty, in the meantime, began
her first over journey at the three-eighths pole and made slow and steady
headway to the half.
At the three-quarter marker, Basic Survival and Ugly Betty
were eyeball to eyeball, preparing for the stretch run. It looked like Basic
Survival had 'survived' the challenge midway down the lane but the stubborn
Ugly Betty made one last gasp near the wire and pulled off the nose victory in
1:59 over the sloppy track. You're Too Funny (Jim McNeight) finished in third.
Owned by Margaret Payne and Jennifer Falcone, Ugly Betty
(Camluck-Red Road Rage) is trained by Dennis Dylo. It the the fourth win in 10
attempts this season for the 7-year-old mare. She has earned $25,279 in 2015
and $198,752 lifetime.
Sadies Place in the meantime scored her second straight
victory with a 1:58.2 decision over Bad Girl Vegas.
It was a three-horse scrum to the lead before the quarter
pole with Fiftyonefifty and Bad Girl Vegas each enjoying a brief lead. But
Sadies Place became the third leader of the race and ended up being the final
one, stepping off to a 1-3/4 length win. Bad Girl Vegas (Drew Monti) took
second while Dontch Remember rolled into the show spot.
Sadies Place (Sadies Dreamboat-Eicarl Leggs) is a
10-year-old mare owned by Barry Franklin and trained by Darren Taneyhill. She's
now won four times in 10 starts this season, bankrolling $18,385 in 2015 and
$326,390 lifetime.
Monti had a driving triple and Ron Beback Jr. posted a
double on the night.
Buffalo Raceway's leading trainer JD Perrin hopped on the
sulky for the first time this season and drove Northern Bullet to a popular
$3.00 win. Perrin finished the night with two training victories as did Taneyhill.
Racing continues on Friday night at Buffalo Raceway with a
12-race card scheduled for 6:35 p.m.
For more information including the latest news, upcoming
promotions, race replays and results, go to www.buffaloraceway.com
