Defending champion Mossdale Ben N served notice to the rest of the competition in this year's MGM Borgata Pacing Series with a sizzling 1:50.1 mile in the third and final $69,444 division in round three on Monday night, April 13 at MGM Yonkers Raceway. Jason Bartlett-driven and Per Engblom-trained Redwood Hanover and Coaches Corner won the other splits.

Driven by Jim Marohn Jr., Mossdale Ben N went right to the front from post three and led his six foes through fractions of :26.4, :55 and 1:22.4. Behind the pacesetter, Huntinthelastdolar (Bartlett) landed in the pocket, while Captain Moore A (Yannick Gingras) went first-up from third before three-quarters, giving cover to slight favourite Captain Albano (Todd McCarthy).

There was no catching Mossdale Ben N on this night, though, as he tacked on a :27.2 final kicker to defeat Huntinthelastdolar by a length and a half. Captain Moore A wound up third and Captain Albano had to settle for fourth. 

There was a judges' inquiry following the race as Mossdale Ben N and Captain Moore A got in tight quarters late on the last turn, but they found no infraction was committed by Mossdale Ben N and the result stood.

An eight-year-old gelding by A Rocknroll Dance out of Mossdale Sue, Mossdale Ben N is trained by Peter Tritton for owner PJT Investments of Madison, Connecticut. He now has 20 career wins, 14 seconds and seven thirds from 72 starts, with $903,961 in earnings.

He paid $6.48 to win as the 2-1 second choice and led a $20.52 exacta and a $65.90 trifecta.

Back in the first flight, it was Redwood Hanover winning in 1:51.3.

Sweet Beach Life (Matt Kakaley) showed the way early on in the race, but Bartlett sent Redwood Hanover out of the two-hole before the :27.2 quarter and took command past that station. From there, Redwood Hanover hit the half in :56.2 and the three-quarters in 1:23.4, then held off a rally by Sweet Beach Life in the lane to defeat him by a nose. Chase H Hanover (Gingras) followed the cover of Celtic Spirit N (Joe Bongiorno) from second-over and wound up third.

The victorious six-year-old Stay Hungry-Rockingcam Park stallion is trained by Engblom and is owned by Evans Nation of Seaford, New York with Engblom Farms of Wrightstown, New Jersey and Hickory Hollow Stables of Spencerville, Indiana. Redwood Hanover is an 18-time winner from 69 career outings and has banked $753,559.

Redwood Hanover returned $2.26 to win as the 1-9 favourite. He was atop a $6.04 exacta and an $11.60 trifecta.

Coaches Corner, who captured the final of the 2025 MGM Grand Prix Series at Yonkers, had to miss last week's Borgata Series action as he went on the Lasix program after a fourth-place effort in the first round, but showed no rust in Monday's second section, winning in a 1:51 romp.

Much like his stablemate, he was out of the pocket to get around Soho Firestone A (Gingras) beyond the :27.4 quarter, then paced middle-half panels of :56.2 and 1:23.4 before he closed in :27.1 to defeat Soho Firestone A by a length and a quarter. Howlenthehills (Kakaley) grabbed third after a first-over trip.

Engblom sent out Coaches Corner, a six-year-old gelded son of Always A Virgin and Carobbean Pacetry, for owners Jeff Fought Racing of East Bernstadt, Kentucky and Brian Carsey of Cambridge City, Indiana. The double millionaire now has a career summary of 36-20-10 from 94 appearances.

He paid $2.66 to win as the 1-5 favourite and keyed a $4.72 exacta and a $9.62 trifecta.

Two more prelims remain in the MGM Borgata Pacing Series on April 20 and April 27 before the $200,000 USD (added) and $100,000 USD (guaranteed) consolation on Friday, May 8.

Stakes action continues at Yonkers on Wednesday, April 15 with the third round of the John Brennan Trotting Series and on Friday, April 17 with the fourth leg of the MGM Ursula McIntyre Pacing Series. The Brennan was divided into a pair of $30,000 USD divisions, while there are a trio of $50,000 USD splits in the McIntyre.

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)