Sir Pinocchio, Ari Ferrari J and Take All Comers were victorious in a trio of $70,423 divisions in the opening leg of the MGM Grand Prix Trotting Series at MGM Yonkers Raceway on Friday, Nov. 21.

Last year's MGM Yonkers Trot champion Sir Pinocchio and driver Jason Bartlett led six foes through panels of :28, :57.1 and 1:25.4 in the opening flight and then dug in through the lane to fend off pocket-sitter and 2-5 favourite Antognoni S (Yannick Gingras) by a head in a 1:53.3 mile. Ultion Face S (Tyler Buter) was the third-place finisher, nearly four lengths behind.

A four-year-old Mets Hall-Lady Cromwell gelding, Sir Pinocchio is trained by Ed Hart for owner Carolyn Atherton of Scarsdale, New York. The millionaire pacer recorded his sixth win in 17 seasonal starts and 19th career victory.

The winning time by Sir Pinocchio bettered the previous track record for a four-year-old gelding trotter of 1:53.4 that was held Im The Muscle and Rich And Miserable since September 2019. 

He paid $6.42 to win as the 2-1 second choice. The exacta paid $11.16 and the trifecta returned $20.34.

The complexion of the second grouping changed on the first turn when 1-9 favourite Periculum (Scott Zeron) went off stride. With Periculum no longer in contention, Bartlett and Ari Ferrari J were on top at the 28-second quarter and led through a :57.3 half and 1:26 three-quarters, with a :29.1 final kicker getting him to the wire in 1:55.1 a half a length ahead of a closing Asteroid (Colin Kelly) and Cecil Hanover (Gingras), who had room on the inside in the stretch from the pocket but had to settle for third.

Tony Alagna trains Ari Ferrari J, a millionaire stallion by Walner out of Dream Child who is owned by Ken Jacobs of Baldwinsville, New York. The 16-time career winner has earned three of his victories through a dozen starts this year.

Ari Ferrari J paid $14.70 to win as the 6-1 second choice. He was atop a $57.30 exacta and a $246.32 trifecta.

Take All Comers, who won the final of this series a year ago, started his title defense with a 1:55 triumph in the final split with Todd McCarthy in the sulky. He tracked Southwind Coors (Gingras) from the pocket to the :28.4 quarter and :57.2 half, then edged to the outside as Southwind Coors hit three-quarters in 1:26. Take All Comers advanced to challenge Southwind Coors on the final bend and forged his way by in the lane to get the job done by a neck. Dire Straits (Zeron) checked in third, just over a length behind.

Jim Campbell sent out Take All Comers, a millionaire son of Creatine and Nantab, for owner Runthetable Stables of Montvale, New Jersey. Take All Comers now has 23 wins lifetime, with three of those wins coming from 11 starts this year during his seven-year-old campaign.

The winner paid $3.50 to as the favourite. He keyed an $8 exacta and a $27.68 trifecta.

Two additional preliminary rounds in this series will take place on Friday, Dec. 5 and Friday, Dec, 12. Points for the series will be earned on a 50-25-12-8-5 scale (winner gets 50 points, runner-up gets 25, etc.). The top 10 point earners get a spot in the $250,000 USD final to be contested over 1-1/4 miles, while the next 10 point earners go into the $75,000 USD added-distance consolation on the same card.

Friday's Pick 5 was not hit, leading to a $10,459.69 carryover and a $25,000 guaranteed pool in the sequence when racing resumes on Monday, Nov. 24. The guarantee in the Pick 5 is being offered as part of the United States Trotting Association’s Strategic Wagering Program and free past performances for the Pick 5, courtesy of TrackMaster, will be available at handicapping.ustrotting.com. The Pick 5, which begins in race five and has a $1 minimum, has a takeout rate of 20 per cent.

In addition to the Pick 5 carryover and guaranteed pool, Monday night’s program also has four $50,000 USD divisions of the first leg of the MGM Grand Prix Pacing Series in races three, five, seven and nine.

Yonkers is operating on a Monday through Friday live racing schedule with post time each night at 6:45 p.m., though Yonkers will only race on Monday and Tuesday next week before the oval goes dark Wednesday through Friday for the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.

(With files from Yonkers Raceway; photo of Sir Pinocchio winning on Nov. 21)