The Twenty - Five Things That Made Genesee County Famous
Number 8
Batavia Downs
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Batavia Downs (From a postcard) Click on the picture for a larger image |
Traffic backed up at the New York State Thruway as thousands of people from the east and the west merged to spend their entertainment dollars on a chance to make more money at one of Genesee County’s best known attractions: Batavia Downs!
The harness racing track is the oldest night-time pari-mutuel track in North America. Batavia Downs opened on Friday, September 20, 1940 at 8:20 p.m. to an estimated crowd of 2,500 people. A total of $629 was bet on the first race and over $10,000 was bet on the first card.
The opening was the dream of William “Lefty” Goldberg and others who, as shareholders in the Monroe - Genesee Breeders Association, chose Batavia because of its location between Rochester and Buffalo. The Monroe - Genesee Breeders Association is the predecessor of the Monroe - Genesee Racing Association. The first season’s attendance was 25,935 people with a total bet of $310,790. The following year, attendance and betting doubled, but racing was canceled in 1942 and 1943 due to travel restrictions and gas rationings.
The 1944 racing season was significant. The track reopened on May 29, 1944 to an estimated crowd of 5,000 people. The season saw more than $1 million in betting and Pat Provenzano became involved in the track. That year, he bought out another investor’s interest for $15,000 and he was elected President of the Genesee - Monroe Racing Association, a position he held until his death in 1977. The following year, the track became the second busiest harness track in the United States.
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Batavia Downs
(From a postcard) |
The Provenzano family was active in track affairs for the next 50 years. After Pat's death, his widow, Barbara H. Provenzano, bought out all the other shareholders in the early 1980’s, and served as chairwoman of the board until she passed away in 1990. Her daughter, Barbara P. Samberg, became president and her other daughter, Donna Warner, was also a member of the management team for the next 15 years.
The year 1997 saw an end to live racing at Batavia Downs. The final season of racing saw the average attendance drop to 922 people per race date and a little more then $3 million was bet.
In an effort to save the historic track, it was purchased in 1998 by Western OTB for $2.48 million. The reopening of the track was delayed because a state law was passed preventing an OTB from running a track. It finally reopened on July 29, 2002 with over 6,000 screaming fans. Another chapter in the Batavia Downs saga occurred on May 18, 2005 when Batavia Downs Gaming opened. On opening night, more than 5,000 people attended to try out the new video slot machines.
How Does It Make Genesee County Famous?
Driving east on the New York State Thruway, when coming up to the Batavia exit, the first thing a driver notices is the huge red neon sign shining from the top of Batavia Downs.
Attendance the first year was 25,935 people, and peaked in 1968 when 754,573 people walked through the turnstile. In the history of the track well over $1BILLION dollars has flowed through the betting windows.
Some of the greatest horses in harness racing history ran at Batavia Downs. On August 26, 1966, in what was billed as “the race of the century,” Frank Ervin drove Bret Hanover to an easy win over Cardigan Bay. The race thrilled a crowd of 15,118 fans, which is the largest crowd to watch a horse race in Western New York. In 1977, Double-Gated Excalibur broke a 38 year old record when he trotted and paced 2:03 3/5 for a total time of 4:07 1/5. In 1980, in front of a screaming crowd of 9,915, Niatross set an all age record for pacers on a ½ mile track with a time of 1:55.
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Batavia Downs Programs from 1963, 1964, & 1965 (Click on the image for a larger picture) |
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