The Stretch Drive

           Saturday turned into a driving duel between two of the leading drivers at Batavia Downs.  Jim Morrill Jr., the leader in wins going into Saturday with 28, added four more wins to his total.  But Drew Monti was also on a heater, picking up four wins of his own, giving him 15 wins on the season.  Monti won the Open I and Open II Pace.  In the Open II, STRATOSPHERE was super impressive, basically going wire to wire for a pretty easy win in 1:53.3 by two lengths.  That's two wins in a row for STRATOSPHERE.  And in the Open I, Monti got a nice trip with BLACK IS BACK.  He pulled second over behind the favorite, LONG TRAIN RUNNIN, went three wide around the last turn and just got up for the win by half a length in 1:53.4.  BLACK IS BACK paid $12.60.            The Stretch Drive crew put in another nights work gambling Saturday night.  Mike and PC combined for 10 winners out...

           Saturday brings us a 13 race card featuring Open Pacers.  The guys at The Stretch Drive spent last night back in the lab, trying to come up with as many winners as possible.  Let's get to the picks. PC's Picks                    Mike's Picks R1.     378                         736 R2.     6314                       3164 R3.     3471                       4327 R4.     1624                       1625 R5.     5143                       4513 R6.     4316            ...

           The Stretch Drive watched and wagered from the Batavia Downs Hotel on Wednesday night, and once again, if you have the chance to watch from a hotel suite, we highly recommend it.  The rooms are great and the view of the races is even better.  Since this is the only way to watch at Batavia Downs right now, give it a shot.            It was another strong 13 race card at Batavia Downs.  And another great night in the bike for David Mcneight III.  Mcneight led all drivers with three wins on the night, including a very impressive mile from Blue Bell Bonnie.  Bonnie sat the 2 hole to the very sharp Lyra (Morrill Jr.), and got up for a pretty easy win in 1:55.  Blue Bell Bonnie paid $12.80.  Lyra was the beaten favorite, and finished second.  The leading trainer of the night was Jennifer Giuliani.  She really seems to be heating up the past couple of weeks.    ...

           PC and Mike have their winning selections ready for tonight, Wednesday 8-26 at Batavia Downs.  The Crew will be watching from the hotel suite once again, so please follow along with us as Batavia has another nice 13 race card on tap for us.   PC's Picks                      Mike's Picks R1.     241                         431                               R2.     7412                       2146 R3.     4215                       4152 R4.     6512                       6253 R5. ...

           THE STRETCH DRIVE picks for Batavia Downs for Saturday, 8-22.  We're hoping for a repeat of Wednesdays performance from PC and Mike.  No pressure.     PC's Picks                    Mike's Picks R1.     538                              548 R2.     2563                            2514 R3.     3871                            1342 R4.     5642                            5431 R5.     6314                            4312 R6. ...

           The Stretch Drive had another great night watching live racing from Batavia Downs.  We once again watched from the Hotel balcony, right after we interviewed Batavia Downs trainer, Maria Rice.  We'd like to thank Maria for stopping by and giving some great info to our followers.  If you haven't seen the interview, please check The Stretch Drive Facebook page to watch it.            Maria Rice went on to send three of her horses to the winners circle on Wednesday, leading all trainers.  She took home the victory in the 7th race, Open I-II Handicap Trot with Noble Legend, the 8th race, Fillies and Mares Open II-III Handicap Pace with Protect Blue Chip, and the 11th race Open II-III Trot with The Stretch Drive crew favorite, Keystone Apache.  Well done Maria!!  Billy Davis Jr. also had three wins, as he was in the bike for all three of Rice's winners.  Jim Morrill Jr. tied Davis wi...

           We're back to give Mike and PC's picks for tonight, Wednesday, August 19th at Batavia Downs.  The crew has been looking over the program for a couple days, and we think we've been able to come up with a couple good winners for you.  Don't forget to bet the pick 5 along with us tonight, starting in Race 1.  Post Time is 5pm.  Thank you for reading and good luck tonight!!       PC's Picks                    Mike's Picks R1.     216                              136 R2.     1236                            1236 R3.     6127                            6741 R4.     4712  ...

               Saturday proved to be another great night watching and wagering at Batavia Downs.  The Stretch Drive spent another night covering the races from the Hotel at Batavia Downs.  It was a really competitive night at the Downs with a lot of different drivers and trainers finding the way to the winners circle.  Leading the way for drivers was Shawn McDonough and Billy Davis Jr. with three wins each.  Davis's night was highlighted by winning the Open III with China Dream.  If you watched our interview with Billy, he mentioned that China Dream was his favorite horse to drive right now.  McDonough managed to get the W with P L Lester for the third week in a row.  It appears McDonough has completely turned P L Lester around as driver and trainer.  Shawn McDonough was also one of three trainers with two wins on the night.  Ryan Swifts barn stayed hot, and James Clouser Jr. continues to heat up....

      The Stretch Drive picks for Saturday at Batavia are in, and we had some extra insight this week.  Joining Mike and PC, was Batavia Downs Race Secretary and Announcer Joe Zambito.  Please watch the video on FB or Twitter to see what Joe had to say about the 13 race card.   PC's Picks                    Mike's Picks R1.     148                         145 R2.     5174                       1543 R3.     1234                       1327 R4.     3175                       3176 R5.     3142                       3214 R6. ...

    The crew put in a hard days work yesterday.  But it's all fun for us over here at The Stretch Drive.  We had a great time interviewing Buffalo Raceway leading driver Billy Davis Jr. before the races.  Check out the interview on our social media platforms.  Thanks for hanging out with us Billy.  Then the guys watched and wagered on the races all night from the Batavia Downs Hotel.  The racing was great, the wagering, not so much.  Jim Morrill Jr. lead all drivers again with three wins on the card.  Ray Fisher Jr. had a couple wins, including a very impressive mile by STATE OFMYHEAD AS, and LUNAR CREDIT remains super hot.  Let's cover a couple races.   Race 1 - Pace - Fillies and Mares Open II - $7,500     This was a great field with a few dropping from the Open I.  LADY LONDON (Fisher Jr.) was the lone leaver from the 2 hole and after a little work she got to the front and went to the 1/4 in a quick 26.4....

    We're back for another racing night at Batavia Downs.  There's a great 13 race card on tap for Wednesday, with first post at 5pm.  Mike and PC hope to continue their hot streaks, and we have our picks ready.    PC's Picks                    Mike's Picks R1.     526                              574 R2.     2375                            3754 R3.     1528                            5127 R4.     3152                            3125      R5.     4126                ...

         We have our winners ready for Saturday night at Batavia Downs.  Don't forget to check out our Best Bets and Longshot picks also.  The guys have been pretty hot with those selections.   PC's Picks                    Mike's Picks R1.     741                              174 R2.     8713                            8132 R3.     2513                            5231 R4.     1523                            1352 R5.     5213                          ...

         Wednesday was another exciting night of racing at Batavia Downs.  Our crew was lucky enough to be watching from the balcony suite at the hotel once again.  We can't say enough about how much we love watching from the hotel, and we plan on being there as much as possible.  Just like Jim Morrill Jr. likes being in the winners circle as much as possible.  He had a monster night on Wednesday, leading all drivers with five wins.   Race 7 - Pace - Fillies and Mares OPEN I - $9,000          Blacknsweet Adda A (Morrill Jr.) and HP Sissy (Bucceri) left from the 2 and 4 hole to line up first and second.  But Gia's Surreal (Cummings Jr.), the race favorite, made a quick move to the front at the 1/4 pole in 28.1.  Bucceri pulled HP Sissy first over as they got to the 1/2 in 57.  Gia lead to the 3/4 pole in 1:25, a 28 second 3rd quarter, and pulled away around the turn, going on to win by three le...

         Here's our selections for Batavia Downs, Wednesday, August 5th. PC's Picks                              Mike's Picks R1.  381                                   238 R2.  3274                                 3247 R3.  3152                                 5312 R4.  6452                                 4651 R5.  3162                                 6312 R6.  2178  ...

         Friday was another beautiful night for racing at Batavia Downs.  The crew was back up on the balcony at the hotel, enjoying Batavia's 13 race card featuring Open Pacers.  Friend of the show, Shawn McDonough put it all together and had three driving wins, and four training wins.  Congrats to Shawn and his crew.  Dave Mcneight III also had a great night with three more wins, including the Open I with Black Is Back.   - Race 7 - Pace - Open I - $10,000          Black Is Back (David Mcneight III) went off the 4/5 favorite and was the lone leaver from the 4 hole.  They went to the 1/4 in 28.3 and the 1/2 in 57.4.  Class Six (Renaldo Morales III) pulled first over and was really the only pressure in the race.  Around the last turn Black Is Back pulled away and got the win over Class Six in 1:54.3 by two lengths.  Keep your eye on Class Six next week.          T...