HAMBURG, N.Y. --- Southern Palms had to sit back and watch patiently as other four trotters enjoyed the lead during Buffalo Raceway's $10,500 Class A main event on Friday night (April 26). But when it counted the most, at the wire, Southern Palms was the one who got the victory.

 

Photo by Steve Roth
Southern Palms hits the wire first in Friday's feature.

Able to weave through traffic during the final half mile, Southern Palms (David McNeight III) found racing room in the 'lightning lane' and edged by Empire Earl N by a neck in 2:01.0 over the sloppy track to notch the $31.00 upset.

 

All This Commotion, Lucky Guess, Are You In and Empire Earl N all had a taste of the top during the mile while Southern Palms was mired in seventh. Finding different paths down the backstretch the final time, Southern Palms positioned himself perfectly in the dash to the finish line. 

 

There was plenty of room in the passing lane for Southern Palms and he was able to catch the stubborn Empire Earl N (Jim Morrill Jr.) in the shadow of the wire. Are You In (Kevin Cummings) took third place.

 

Owned by Mike Torcello and trained by Gerry Sarama, Southern Palms is a 6-year-old gelding who scored his first victory of the season in seven attempts. The win pushed his 2019 earnings to $16.890 and $281,631 lifetime.

 

Kyle Cummings had his first triple of his young career while Morrill Jr. had two victories on the night. Tammy Cummings, Kyle's mother, had three training wins.

 

Racing will continue on Saturday evening with a 10-race program scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. There's a $2,205 carryover in the Pick-5 which begins in the second race.

 

For more information including the latest news, race replays, results, entries, upcoming promotions and simulcast schedule, go to www.buffaloraceway.com