Coa, Barrow Capture Meet Titles at Finger Lakes

The 2023 live Thoroughbred racing season at Finger Lakes Gaming and Racetrack came to an end on Wednesday, November 22. The meet concluded with The Institute taking the feature race of the Closing Day card. 

The Institute also scored a victory on the final day of the 2022 season for trainer Michael S. Ferraro. The $130,898 earner covered the six furlong distance of Wednesday's third race in a time of 1:10.49   He chased down 1-5 favorite Jak N Burny to secure the minor upset.

Jockey Luis Perez guided the Institute to the one and one-quarter length triumph. Perez finished the 2023 season ranked third in the jockey standings with 62 victories. 

TOP PERFORMERS 

A tight race between two riders for the FLGR jockey title was decided on closing day. Keiber Coa and Emanuel De Diego were tied with 65 wins before the Wednesday racing card.  

Coa won three races on Wednesday to claim his first ever FLGR jockey title. He won the fifth race with Smooth Tales, the seventh aboard Sweet Desantis and the eighth with Lady Quinn. 

Paul Barrow registered his first career FLGR trainer title. Barrow finished the season with 61 wins to achieve the top ranking, 

Chris Englehart had previously dominated the local standings with a record 20 trainer titles. Barrow snapped a five-year win streak of the FLGR Hall-of-Famer, who won the title 16 of the prior 18 years. 

Barrow has a lifetime total of 911 victories in 5,691 starts including five career stakes. His most recent stakes victory was with Sweet Brown Sugar in the  Shesastonecoldfox Stakes at FLGR on November 6.  

Fiery Heart led all horses for total FLRT wins in 2023. The 4-year-old gelding won seven of his eight starts for trainer Jonathan Buckley. All seven wins were accomplished under the guidance of jockey Kevin Navarro. 

Buckley was the conditioner of the 2022 FLGR Horse-of-the-year. Warriors Revenge won seven consecutive races at FLGR to achieve the honor last year. 

FLGR will remain in operation during the winter months for simulcast wagering with up to seven tracks per day. Live thoroughbred action will resume in the spring with the start of the 2024 meet.