By Bill Heller of the Harness Horse Breeders of New York

There has never been a better time to shuffle off to Buffalo – Buffalo Raceway, that is.

When Buffalo Raceway opens its 71st season Wednesday, January 9th, even the harsh winter weather won’t be able to stifle the optimism pervading track management, the horsemen and fans.

And when is the last time you saw "raceway" and "optimism" in the same sentence?

Buffalo’s 2013 season will showcase the culmination of a long-term commitment by track management to improve live racing as well as simulcasting.

"It’s incredible what we’ve done the last two years," Buffalo Raceway COO Jim Mango said. "We wanted to make things as good as possible for the future of harness racing for the people of Western New York. The mission is, "Do a little better."

To that end, the track built five barns and rebuilt an old one.

"The entire stable area was blacktopped," Mango said. "It’s the nicest stable area in the state. It’s very clean. It’s very new."

The dormitory was renovated on the backside and the drainage system on the track improved. The installation of a lighting system has begun.

"We’ve got new lights from the finish line to the top of the stretch," Mango said. "That’s going to proceed throughout the year as we do the whole track."

Buffalo’s 99-date 2013 season begins with racing on Wednesday at 5 p.m. and Friday and Saturday cards starting at 6:40. Thursdays will be added in April. Sunday afternoon cards will replace Thursday evenings in June.

Fans will enjoy a renovated clubhouse and other new amenities. There are new self-betting terminals and a 2% cash-reward program for bettors who wager more than $1,500 a month. Wednesdays in January will feature a guaranteed $5,000 Pick Four.

And there’s more.

"We spent $400,000 and brought in a new video system, new cameras and new speakers throughout the entire plant, which is something I’ve wanted to do for years," Mango said. "We also have new graphics, which I think everyone is going to like."

How could horsemen not like a 10% hike in purses?

"Things are going so well with simulcasting, we might have to bump them up again," Mango said. "We’ve got $5,000 claimers going for a $4,900 purse."

Buffalo Raceway’s commitment isn’t lost on Buffalo’s horsemen. Mango said there were 650 stall requests for Buffalo’s 400 stalls.

"The horsemen are very excited," Bruce Tubin, the president of the Western New York Harness Horsemen’s Association, said. "The purses are going to be extremely attractive. The barns have been improved. Between the purses and the improvements, we can’t wait to get started."

Neither can Mango, who had a 19-year stint in Maryland and a brief respite in Mexico before coming to Buffalo Raceway in 2005. "I’m 61 and very happy to be at a smaller track," Mango said. "We’re not Churchill Downs, but we’re proud of what we’ve done here. We’ve put our footprint on the sport."