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When Jim Urtel Jr. was 12, he fell in love with horses and harness racing. In the ensuing years, he enjoyed operating a small stable, often with his father, while also working for several other trainers, primarily in western New York and Pennsylvania.
At the beginning of the 2023 harness racing season, Brett Beckwith stated in an interview that one of his main goals was to finish in the top two at Saratoga Casino Hotel. As the curtain closed on racing at the Spa on Sunday, Dec. 17, Beckwith not only found himself in second in the driver
"To have the opportunity I have had this year means a ton. It's truly something I'm grateful for. If you would have asked me three or four years ago if I was going to be driving horses for a living, I would have called you crazy. "
BATAVIA — Management of the Hotel at Batavia Downs says the facility needs more rooms to meet customer demand and raise more revenue.
Randy Delbert Manges, the longtime sales manager for the Kentucky Standardbred Horse Sales Company and later the Lexington Selected Yearling Sale, died Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023. He was 72. Mr. Manges was born in Northville, MI, the son of Del Manges, who was racing his stable of horses at the time at Northville Downs. Mr.