Questions

10/22/21 BRUCE HOW IS IT THAT SHAWN MCDONOUGH CAN BE DOWN AS TRAINER ON MEAN PAULINE AND DRIVE ANOTHER HORSE IN THAT RACE. ISNâ€™T THAT CONSIDERED CONFLICT OF INTEREST .....SUBMITTED ANONYMOUSLY
- Kevin Cummings drove the other horse in question. It was a mistake on the program and was announced & posted on all of the screens during the evening.
04/19/21 - WILL SPECTATORS BE ALLOWED INTO BUFFALO RACEWAY THIS SATURDAY 4/24/21?.....SUBMITTED BY BILL HANLON
- As of right now, attendance will be limited to 120 spectators & there will be no food or alcoholic beverages served. Additional information will be coming out this week on the Buffalo Raceway website.
02/24/21 - IF PEOPLE CAN SIT IN AN OTB PARLOR,WHY CAN"T SPECTATORS GO TO THE TRACK AND WATCH LIVE RACING?.....SUBMITTED BY BILL HANLON
- That is a very good question. I would suggest you contact the Governor’s office for an answer. .....Bruce
09/13/20 - ARE THE VERNON HORSEMEN GOING TO BE ALLOWED TO ENTER AT BATAVIA WHEN THEY SHUT DOWN ON SEPT. 26TH?......SUBMITTED BY JAIME DUBAY
- Jaime, Vernon Downs is not shutting down on September 26, & if they were we would not let trainers from there or anywhere else enter horses at Batavia Downs this year.
08/05/20 - BRUCE, WITH THE SHORTENED SEASON HOW WILL OUR PENSION POINTS BE DETERMINED?.....SUBMITTED BY DAVE RUSSO
- At the end of the calendar year our pension committee will meet, as always, and decide on the distribution of the current year’s pension points.
05/05/20 - CAN WE GET AN UPDATE ON TALKS WITH BUFFALO RACEWAY ON RE-OPENING? I GET THE IMPRESSION THAT THEY DON'T REALLY CARE TO REOPEN THIS SEASON. THE REOPENING GUIDELINES DON'T SEEM OVERLY DAUNTING, WHAT CAN WE DO TO ASSIST?
- Mary, Our association and Buffalo Raceway have had policies and procedures in place for reopening Buffalo Raceway for weeks. In fact, we were the first track in New York State to submit a plan to the Gaming Commission. I can assure you that both the Western New York Harness Horsemen's Association and Buffalo Raceway are extremely anxious to resume racing. We are poised to begin as soon as the Governor says "GO".
12/19/18 - BRUCE WITH THE CANCELLATION OF FRIDAY'S RACE CARD WILL THE HORSEMEN BE COMPENSATED FOR SHIPPING, LASIX AND PADDOCK EXPENSES ? I KNOW WHEN TIOGA HAD TO CANCEL RACING THEY PAID $150.00 PER HORSE TO COVER THESE EXPENSES.....SUBMITTED BY RON HOUGHTALING
- Ron, Our normal cancellation policy is as follows: If the races are cancelled after the first race lasix time, our association’s policy is that all owners of horses scheduled to race will receive $100 dollars to cover their expenses. However, since there is a long break coming before Friday’s horses will have another opportunity to race, & the holidays are coming, our association has instructed the Batavia Downs purse office to divide 100% of the purse for each race among all of the scheduled participants.
04/27/18 - BRUCE; WHATS YOUR THOUGHTS OF RAISING THE MINIMUM CLAIMING PRICES FROM 4000 TO 5000 ON THE PACE AND 5000 TO 6000 ON THE TROT? I HAVE SEEN NUMEROUS PACERS BRING 4000 AMISH PRICE NOW THESE DAYS AND TROTTERS ARE OVER 5000.00. IT WOULD PROTECT THE SMALL RACING STOCK WE HAVE LEFT AND ALSO ALLOW THE FLEXIBILITY TO RAISE THE LOWER END PURSES IF MANAGEMENT FEELS ITS JUSTIFIED. SUBMITTED BY .....MARC SHUTTLEWORTH
- Marc, Here are my thoughts on that subject. Currently, $4000 claiming pacers are racing for $3500 & $5000 claiming trotters are racing for $4900. For the most part, they're racing every week. If you have a good one in either of those classes, you can make some decent money. If you have a bad one, it's not going to help them by moving up to a tougher class. At that point, we'll lose more horses because they can't compete. It's a good theory if we were overloaded with horses and you wanted to lose a few, but that is certainly not the case currently.
02/21/18 - BRUCE AS IN ANY BUSINESS WE HAVE GOOD YEARS AND BAD YEARS. THIS ONE DUE TO ALL OF THE CANCELLED DATES IS NOT LOOKING SO GOOD. THAT BEING SAID WITH ALL THE CANCELLED DATES OUR PURSE ACCOUNT SHOULD BE GETTING BACK TO A LEVEL WE WERE AT LAST YEAR? SINCE WE ARE NOT DOING ANY SPECIAL EVENTS THAT REQUIRE LARGE PURSE DISBURSEMENTâ€™S IS IT POSSIBLE FOR MANAGEMENT TO CONSIDER WRITING SOME HIGHER PURSE RACES SAY THE LAST MONTH OF THE MEET FOR HORSES THAT HAVE RACED FOR EXAMPLE MORE THAN X AMOUNT OF TIMES AT BUFFALO RACEWAY IN 2018? THAT COULD BE ITâ€™S ALITTLE PERK FOR THE HORSEMAN WHO STUCK IT OUT ALL MEET?.....SUBMITTED BY MARC SHUTTLEWORTH
- Marc, That is a very interesting idea that will be seriously considered toward the end of the meet. Thanks!.....Bruce
01/17/18 - I WANNA KNOW A SERIOUS QUESTION AND I WANT IT ANSWERED, BRUCE YOUR LACK OF LEADERSHIP AND TURNING A BLIND EYE ON ALL THE ISSUES FOR THE HORSEMEN HAVE GONE ON LONG ENOUGH AND QUITE FRANKLY AFTER HOW MANY YEARS ITâ??S OBVIOUS YOU COULD CARE LESS ANYMORE ABOUT THE HORSEMEN WELL BEING YOU ONLY CARE ABOUT THE POPULARITY VOTE AND YOUR CLOSE GROUP OF FRIENDS YOU NEVER STAND UP FOR WHATâ??S RIGHT, THEREFORE I FIRMLY BELIEVE YOU NEED TO STEP DOWN AND RESIGN AS PRESIDENT OF THE WNYHHA. MY QUESTION IS HOW DOES A CERTAIN INDIVIDUAL GO ABOUT RUNNING FOR WNYHHA PRESIDENT?.....SUBMITTED BY KARL DILCHER
- Karl, Thank You for stating your opinion so clearly. Here is your answer:
- First you must be elected to the Board of Directors.
- Then the Board would have to elect you as the President.
01/16/18 - HOW BAD IS THE CURRENT HORSE SHORTAGE AT THE TRACK? I FIND IT SURPRISING WITH LAST WEEKS CANCELLATIONS THAT BR CAN'T FIELD A FRIDAY NIGHT PROGRAM. AS A FAN I FIND THIS VERY CONCERNING.
- Due to the brutal winter weather we have been suffering through, it has been virtually impossible for our local trainers to condition their horses into racing shape. As a fan of harness racing in Western New York, I’m sure you wouldn’t want to see horses competing that were not conditioned in a manner to enable them to produce their best effort. That would not be fair to the horses or the wagering public. Our horse population will increase as more and more horses are physically ready to race.
03/29/14 - FIRST I AM ALL FOR THE SAFETY OF HORSES AND DRIVERS BUT THERE IS A LOT OF TALK BOARDING ON CONSPIRACY THAT THE DRIVERS RESPONSIBLE FOR CANCELLATION ALL HAD BAD POST POSITIONS IN THE FINALS OF THE MICHAEL SCORE SERIES. TO SHOW THAT THIS WAS JUST A SAFETY ISSUE AND NOT A CONSPIRACY I FEEL THE POST POSITIONS THAT WERE DRAWN SHOULD STAY THE SAME NEXT WEEK. PLEASE COMMENT BRUCE.....SUBMITTED ANONYMOUSLY.
- Having just returned from 3 days in Columbus attending the United States Trotting Association's Board of Director's meetings, I was not present to witness Saturday's last 3 race cancellation. However, I did speak to the judges late Saturday night and Sunday afternoon in addition to others who were present in the paddock Saturday night. I can assure you that a driver's conspiracy to reschedule the Michael Scores final has a 0% chance of being true. The judges also informed me that the final will be redrawn.
11/18/13 - BRUCE, HAVE THEY FINALIZED THE 2014 RACE DATES FOR BUFFALO RACEWAY ? IF YES WHAT ARE THEY ? SUBMITTED BY.....DYCE SPALLUTO
- Yes! We begin on January 8 and race Wednesday, Friday, Saturday in January; Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday in February & March; Wednesday, Friday, Saturday in April & May; Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday in June & July.
07/05/13 - BRUCE, I SEE THE BATAVIA DOWNS STALL APPLICATION IS AVAILABLE.I WAS WONDERING IF THE RETURN TO BATAVIA WILL GIVE THE SHIPINS FREE USE OF VITAL SERVICES SUCH AS VETWORK , BLACKSMITH , & FREE USE OF THE TRACK AS IN THE PAST
- I am sure that the services you mentioned will remain the same as they have always been at Batavia.
11/29/12 - MR. TUBIN, WHY DO YOU ALLOW BATAVIA DOWNS TO REDUCE PURSE MONEY, AND CUT DAYS THE LAST TO WEEKS OF THE MEET? WHEN IS YOUR TERM OF PRESIDENT UP?.....SUBMITTED BY MIKE
- Our schedule at Batavia Downs this year has been public knowledge since last December. We were scheduled to race 72 days & we will be racing 72 days. No days were cut. We actually stretched the calendar out by adding an extra weekend to shorten the downtime between meets. Check the Batavia purse account balance as of 11/30/12 on this site when it is available in December and you should be able to answer your own question. Officers of our association are elected on a yearly basis following our annual Board of Directors elections.
07/16/12 - BRUCE, I JUST RECEIVED MY WNYHHA NEWS LETTER AND FILLED THE SURVEY OUT. DON'T KNOW IF IT WILL HELP YOU, BUT AS I WAS READING THE REPORTS INSIDE, YOU MENTIONED NEW CHANGES IN THE RACING AND WAGERING BOARDS REGULATIONS AS IT RELATES TO CONDITION SHEETS DRAW SCHEDULES. COULD YOU CLARIFY WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT AND OR WHERE I MIGHT FIND THE REGULATION (SECTION ETC) SO I CAN READ IT FOR MYSELF. DON'THINK IT WILL BE ANYTHING I NEED TO BE CONCERNED WITH, BUT IF HAL AND I EVER DECIDE TO PURCHASE ANOTHER HORSE, ITS NICE TO KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT. I AM WONDERING IF IT IS EVEN A GOOD IDEA TO EVEN THINK ABOUT PURCHASING ANOTHER HORSE WITH THE RACING CLIMATE AS IT STANDS, BUT I AM NOT READY TO GIVE UP YET. THANKS.... SUBMITTED ANONYMOUSLY
- 10/22/21 - An amendment to Section 308 of the Racing, Pari-Mutual Wagering and Breeding Law became effective May 28, 2012. Section 308 (2) states: "The licensed racing corporations shall reimburse the State Racing and Wagering Board for the per diem cost to the Board to employ one Associate Judge and the Starter to serve at the harness race meetings." In other words, tracks must pay the cost (plus benefits) of one judge every day we have a draw or we race. Therefore, tracks are trying to avoid drawing on dark days & incurring the additional cost. They also now are billed for the Starter on every race day.
02/16/12 - BRUCE; THANKS FOR ADDRESSING MY PREVIOUS EMAIL COMPLAINT: I HAVE NOTICED A LARGE AMOUNT HIGHER END HORSES HERE FOR THE MEET; NATURALLY THE RACE OFFICE WOULD BE RUNNING MORE DIVISIONS TO GET THEM RACED HENCE USING LARGER PORTION OF THE PURSE ACCOUNT THAT WAS PREVIOUSLY ESTIMATED. DO YOU FEEL WE CAN SUB STAIN THE CURRENT SPENDING LEVELS TO THE END OF THE MEET?.....SUBMITTED BY MARC SHUTTLEWORTH.
- While I can't guarantee it, I am cautiously optimistic that we can sustain the current purse schedule through the end of the meet. In addition to an increase in higher end horses, as you mentioned, we are also racing nine additional days this year. However, we are offering more lower end conditions than were listed by the previous race secretary, which is allowing more horses to race where they belong instead of being forced to race over their heads for increased purse money. We also began the year with an increase in purse funds over last year.
02/10/12 - BRUCE, WHEN WILL WE MAKE UP OUR CANCELLED NIGHT. THERE ARE ALOT OF HORSES STRUGGLING TO GET IN AND THE MAKE UP DAY WOULD HELP.... SUBMITTED ANONYMOUSLY.
- The make up day will be Thursday, April 5. That will give us 4 days of racing every week in April, May, June, & July.
01/31/12 - BRUCE IS IT POSSIBLE TO HAVE THE URINE STALLS NEXT TO THE SIX RACE CHANGED OVER TO SHAVINGS INSTED OF STRAW? IF YOU DRAW THE 8 HOLE IN THE SIX RACE THE URINE RUNS FROM THOSE STALLS ON YOUR FEET TO THE DRAIN IN FRONT OF THE # 8 HORSE?.....SUBMITTED BY MARC SHUTTLEWORTH.
- Thanks for informing me of that problem. For some reason, 2 of the stalls had shavings, & 2 of them had straw. They will all have shavings immediately.
01/28/12 - BRUCE,IHAVE A QUESTION FOR YOU THAT WAS ASKED TO ME & I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER.IN THE RACE LAST SAT. THAT HAD THE ACCIDENT THE RACE WAS DECLARED BY THE JUDGES NO CONTEST AND THE PURSE WAS DIVIDED EQUALLY WHICH IS VERY FAIR,BUT HOW DO THEY TAKE OUT A STARTING FEE IF IT WAS NO CONTEST ?.....SUBMITTED BY DYCE SPALLUTO.
- My best guess would be that since the race started, and the participants divided $6,500 in purse money, a starting fee would be appropriate. If a "no contest" ruling resulted in no purse money being distributed, then a starting fee would certainly be questionable.
01/28/12 - WOULDN'T IT BE BENEFICIAL TO BOTH WNYHHA & BUFFALO RACEWAY TO LOOK INTO GETTING AN OUT RIDER ? IF THERE WAS LAST SAT. 9/21 MAYBE WE WOULDN'T HAVE HAD THE SERIOUS INJURIES TO KEN HOLIDAY AND THE HORSE NATIVE TREASURE.....SUBMITTED BY DYCE SPALLUTO.
- Let's be clear, the safety of our drivers and horses is, at all times, a top priority of our association and the management of both of our local racetracks. When our horsemen feel that the conditions for racing are not safe, we pull the plug with absolutely no resistance from management. It is also why we had a meeting on January 3, the purpose of which was to review all of our emergency procedures in case of an accident on the racetrack. That meeting was attended by representatives from the ambulance company, our track veterinarians, our track personnel, track security, paddock employees, etc. As to the accident that occurred on January 21, there was absolutely nothing an outrider could have done to prevent the injuries sustained by Ken Holliday or Native Treasure. Does that mean we shouldn't consider an outrider, No, it doesn't. Ashley Holliday did a terrific job last year at Batavia. She was extremely helpful when a driver had his hands full with a hot horse or when a horse needed to be turned to go to the gate, but Batavia in the summer & Buffalo during a typical winter(we may never see another one like this again) are two entirely different matters. Is the subject being discussed, Yes, as are all issues that pertain to safety and those discussions will continue.
01/27/12 - BRUCE , IF A HORSE HAS BEEN CLAIMED LISTED AS A HORSE BUT IS A GELDING, AND THE PAPERWORK HAD BEEN TURNED IN AND IT WAS CHANGED THROUGH THE USTA BEFORE POST TIME, CAN THE HORSE BE GIVEN BACK AND PLEASE LIST THE RULE STATING AS SUCH.THANK YOU...SUBMITTED ANONYMOUSLY
- This example is covered by the following rule. As you can see, title does not transfer to the claimant when there is a misrepresentation as to the sex of the animal. This rule applies even if there is a mistake made that is not the fault of the original owner. (i) Vesting of title. Every horse claimed shall race in all heats of race in the interest and for the account of the owner who declared it to such race, but title to the claimed horse shall be vested in the successful claimant from the time the word "GO" is given by the starter in the first heat, and said successful claimant shall become the owner of the horse, whether it be alive or dead, sound or unsound, or injured either before, during or after the race, except for a misrepresentation as to the sex or age of such animal and except as hereinafter provided in subdivision (o) of this section.
01/14/12 - WITH THE FRIDAY 1/13 CARD CANCELED & NO QUALIFIERS WHY DONT THE HORSEMEN ASK FOR A DAY OF MORNING QUAILIIERS LIKE ALL THE OTHER UPSTATE TRACKS GET ? EACH YEAR VERNON,TIOGA,& SARATOGA HAVE MORNING QUALIFIERS WHY NOT IN BUFFALO ? THE JUDGES ARE THERE ON TUES AM FOR A DRAW,NEXT TUES AM WOULD BE A PERFECT TIME TO DO THIS.....SUBMITTED BY DYCE SPALLUTO.
- Friday's qualifiers were postponed until Saturday. The option of scheduling qualifiers on Tuesday after the draw was brought up yesterday & was rejected for a number of logistical reasons. There will be more than 5 qualifiers next Friday if necessary. People who race at Vernon & Tioga are off for considerably longer than our local horsemen. They need one or two full days to accommodate everyone who needs to qualify. We are granted a grace period until February 1. Unfortunately, there were 8 horses left out this Friday, & this will be corrected next week if necessary.