Finger Lakes opens 65th season, keeps winning wagering formula intact

Finger Lakes opened its 65th season betting that the formula that lifted 2025 wagering by $7.1 million deserved another run, not a reinvention. The track kept its wagering menu intact, leaned harder into New York-bred racing and set its 2026 meet up as a measured extension of what already worked.

The meet began Monday, April 27, with an eight-race card and a slightly earlier first post time of 12:55 p.m. The schedule runs 91 race days through Nov. 25, starting with Mondays and Tuesdays for the first two weeks so the local horse population can sharpen into form before Finger Lakes returns to its usual Monday-Wednesday rhythm. That kind of structure is built for field size and betting continuity, two things horseplayers notice quickly when a regional circuit wants to protect its handle.

The wagering menu remains centered on products that already found a following. Finger Lakes again offers a mandatory daily-payout Pick 5 in Race 1 and a late Pick 5 with carryover later on the card, with takeout on Pick 5 wagers posted at 20 percent. That matters because the second Pick 5, added in 2025, grew by more than 150 percent, giving the track a concrete signal that bettors responded when the pool was designed to create action every day.

The opening card’s feature was the $26,500 Welcome Back Racing Fans allowance at 4 1/2 furlongs, a short sprint that fit the first-day rhythm. The opener also marked the return of jockey Jacqueline Davis, back riding after being sidelined by injury and returning to the saddle over the winter at Charles Town in West Virginia.

Finger Lakes is also building the season around 14 stakes restricted to New York-breds, a schedule that keeps the meet tied closely to the state breeding program. The marquee dates include the George W. Barker Stakes on May 25, the New York Derby and New York Oaks on July 13, the Arctic Queen Stakes on Sept. 7, the Lady Finger, Aspirant, Ontario County and Niagara Stakes on Sept. 21, the New York Breeders’ Futurity on Oct. 12, and the Shesastonecoldfox and Tin Cup Chalice Stakes on Nov. 9.

Last season’s numbers gave the plan credibility. Andre Worrie finished 2025 with 100 wins for his second Finger Lakes riding title, while M. Anthony Ferraro topped the trainer standings with 68 victories for a second straight local crown and fourth overall. In a racing market where turnover is expensive and certainty is rare, Finger Lakes chose stability and let the numbers argue for it.