For the second straight week, driver Jason Bartlett scored a hat trick in the MGM Borgata Pacing Series at MGM Yonkers Raceway on Monday, April 14.

Once again, Bartlett closed out the night with Coaches Corner, who won the fastest $69,444 division in 1:50.4. The five-year-old gelding set fractions of :27.3, :56.2 and 1:23.3, then turned back a determined first-over bid from Mossdale Ben N (Jordan Stratton), who was seeking his third consecutive series win. Why Not Now (Matt Kakaley) sat the pocket and finished third.

Trained by Per Engblom, Coaches Corner is a son of Always A Virgin-Carobbean Pacetry, owned by Jeff Fought Racing of Astor, Florida and Brian Carsey of Cambridge City, Indiana. In addition to his back-to-back series wins, he finished a close second in the opening leg. He is a 29-time winner with $1,120,048 in earnings. 

Coaches Corner paid $4.30 to win as the favourite and led a $6.10 exacta and $17.80 trifecta.

Earlier in the evening, Bartlett and Engblom teamed up with Huntinthelastdolar (pictured above), who posted a front-end victory in 1:52.1. After battling for early position with Binge On Yankee (Scott Zeron) and a three-wide Charlie May (Jordan Stratton), the Huntsville-Eighthunrdolarbill gelding seized control beyond a sizzling :26.1 opening quarter. He cruised through middle splits of :55.1 and 1:23.1, then held off Sherlock N (George Brennan) by 1-1/2 lengths with Charlie May hanging on for third.

Owned by E Five Racing of Boca Raton, Florida and John Fielding of Scarborough, Ont., Huntinthelastdolar notched his 15th career win and increased his bankroll to $929,710. Like his stablemate, he boasts two straight wins and a second in the first three legs of the series.

He returned $3.60 as the favourite. The exacta paid $34.60, while the trifecta returned $238.50.

Bartlett added to his tallies with Himself N, who followed live cover and powered home to win in 1:52.3. After Racing Rampage (Matt Kakaley) took over at the quarter in :27 and led through a half in :55.2, Act Fast (Yannick Gingras) rolled up first-over to challenge at the 1:23.4 three-quarters. That move left Hemsworth N (Scott Zeron) first-up with Himself N tracking the flow. Hemsworth N briefly grabbed the lead in the stretch, but Himself N surged late to win by a neck over a charging Churchviewfrankl IR (Brent Holland), while Hemsworth N settled for third as the favourite.

An eight-year-old Sportswriter-Shards Of Myross gelding, Himself N is trained by Lance Hudson of Huguenot, N.Y. and co-owned with William Hartt of Carmel, Maine. He now boasts a 22-15-7 record from 72 starts and earnings of $527,650. 

He paid $8.40 to win as the 3-1 third choice. The exacta returned $41.40 and the trifecta paid $100.

Driver Patrick Lachance won the evening's other division with his trainee Verdun, who also won a division in the first leg. He rebounded this week after finishing third to Mossdale Ben N last week. The five-year-old Bettors Delight-Pop Goes Theweasel stallion blazed off the gate from post four but took a pocket ride behind 2-5 favourite Desperate Man (Matt Kakaley) through fractions of :27.1, :56 and 1:24. Lachance pulled Verdun on the final turn and the pair swept past Desperate Man with ease, opening up by 2-1/4 lengths to win in 1:51.3. Aardies Flash N (Jason Bartlett) closed for second, while Desperate Man faded to third.

Trained by Lachance for owner Tom Ceraso Jr. of Stamford, Connecticut, Verdun collected his 24th career victory and increased his lifetime earnings to $679,137. 

He paid $7 to win as the 5-2 second choice. The exacta returned $20.60 and the trifecta paid $25.80.

Multiple O'Brien Award winner Mark MacDonald also made headlines, returning to the sulky for the first time since an accident last October at Yonkers Raceway. He guided a pair of Larry Stalbaum trainees on Monday and is set for two more assignments on Tuesday, driving for trainer Ray Schnittker as he continues to navigate his comeback and assess future plans.

The MGM Borgata Pacing Series prelims run through Monday, April 28, with the $200,000 USD (added) final and $100,000 USD (guaranteed) consolation on Friday, May 9 when they will be joined by the $200,000 USD (added) final and $100,000 USD (guaranteed) consolation of the Blue Chip Matchmaker Pacing Series.

The John Brennan Trotting Series picks back up on Wednesday, April 16 at Yonkers Raceway with a trio of $30,000 USD splits of the final preliminary round. Named in honour of longtime Standardbred Owners Association of New York (SOANY) horsemen's representative, who passed away from COVID-19 complications in March 2020, the series will conclude with a $100,000 USD guaranteed final and a $50,000 USD guaranteed consolation on April 23.  

The penultimate leg of the Blue Chip Matchmaker Series will occur on Friday, April 18 and will have three $50,000 USD divisions. Aardie B Miki N, who is three-for-three in the Matchmaker so far, is taking the week off, giving mares who have been chasing her a chance at valuable points towards the May 9 final.

Continuing for every Monday and Friday card during the legs of the Borgata and Matchmaker, Yonkers, in conjunction with the SOANY, will offer a $20,000 guaranteed Pick 5 pool in race five. The guaranteed Pick 5 pool on Mondays is also a part of the United States Trotting Association's Strategic Wagering Program.

Yonkers is currently operating on a Monday through Friday live racing schedule with post time each night at 6:45 p.m.

(With files from Yonkers Raceway)