Batavia, NY —Rock’nroll Shelli (A rock ‘n’ roll dance) had a perfect trip up until the stretch where she took the passing lane to victory in the $9,000 Open II-III Handicap pacing feature on the opening day of the 2026 winter competition, which greeted competitors with a good course and intermittent rain.
Rocknroll Shelli (Kyle Cummings) finished second behind Way Too Sweet (Shawn Gray) who led the field to halftime in 1:01.2. There, Arsenal’s Ladybug (Kyle Swift) crossed first with Pro Beach (Brett Beckwith) close behind and the pair pushed the action to three-quarters in 1:31.2. After rounding the final corner, Arsenal’s Ladybug took the lead from Way Too Sweet on the outside as they entered the stretch and looked like a winner. But Rocknroll Shelli had a faultless run around the pins and shot late to take the front by half a length at the lights in 2:02.3.
ROCKNROLL SHELLI REPEAT
Rocknroll Shelli ($13.80) is owned by Chris Lawton and Dale Lawton, who also trains the winner.
Shawn Gray, visiting from Saratoga, was the leading driver Tuesday after winning three races on the card. Three more winners on Tuesday came from the stable of Candace Brandstratter-Hall, who was the top conditioner going into the competition.
Live racing resumes at Batavia Downs on Thursday (January 15) at 3pm
Free full card history performance programs for every live card of racing in Batavia can always be downloaded from The Downs website (bataviadownsgaming.com) under the ‘Live Racing’ tab. Then you can watch all the races live for free as they happen on the Batavia Downs YouTube page.
For full race results, click here: American trotting results.
Through Tim Boyarskifor Batavia Downs
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