Yo Tillie will return to the site of her top lifetime win when she competes in the first of two $50,000 eliminations for the Maple Leaf Trot on Friday, Aug. 28 at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

Yo Tillie, the lone female among the 13 horses entered in the Grade 1 event for older trotters, captured the Breeders Crown (G1) for three-year-old trotting fillies last October at Mohawk. She also won her Breeders Crown elimination there in her only other race around the seven-eighths-mile oval in Ontario.

Friday’s start will be Yo Tillie’s first against male rivals. The top five finishers from each elimination will advance to the Sept. 5 final, with an estimated purse of $630,000.

“I said that the first time we race against the boys, it’s going to be there,” co-owner/trainer Andrew Harris said about Mohawk. “I think that track suits her, so that was a big reason for us going there. We’ll give it a try and see what happens.

“Unfortunately, there are not a lot of trotting races for the mares. The only option she’s got is to race against the boys, so she might as well race against the boys when they’re going for a lot of money.”

There are eight graded stakes this year for trotting mares compared to 18 open events for older trotters. No other trotting division has fewer than 11.

Yo Tillie’s six-horse Maple Leaf Trot elimination features Lexus Kody, who won last year’s final in a Canadian-record 1:49.1. He is the 6-5 morning-line favourite, with Yannick Gingras driving for trainer Ron Burke. The field also includes 2025 Breeders Crown Open Trot winner French Wine (4-1), who will have Jason Bartlett in the sulky for trainer Nancy Takter.

Todd McCarthy will drive Yo Tillie for Harris, leaving from post two. The daughter of Tactical Landing-Consolidator is 6-1 on the morning line.

The second elimination features Super Chapter, who won the John Cashman Memorial at the Meadowlands on Aug. 8 in his most recent start for driver Dexter Dunn and trainer Marcus Melander. He is the 9-5 morning-line choice in the seven-horse field.

“(Yo Tillie) is a nice mare, but do I think some of these like Lexus Kody and Super Chapter are freaks? Yeah,” Harris said. “So, she’s up against it because she’s in a year where I think there are some really, really nice boys. But it’s either this or don’t race. At least she drew well and it’s a short field (for her elimination). With any luck at all, she should be able to make the final.”

Last year, Yo Tillie had 11 wins and one second-place finish in 12 starts, earning $1,352,526 for owners Harris, William Pollock and Bruce Areman (who now race together as Punisher 11 Stable). She capped her season with her Breeders Crown triumph and received the 2025 Dan Patch Award for best three-year-old trotting filly.

This season, Yo Tillie has three wins and a second in seven starts, with $155,984 in purses. Her victories include two legs of the Kentucky Sire Stakes for four-year-old trotting mares and a leg of the Miss Versatility Series. She finished second in the KYSS final, missing by a neck.

“It’s been a hit-and-miss season with her so far,” Harris said. “She’s had some flashes of her old self, and then she’s had some trouble in some other races. She’s had more tie-up issues this year than she’s ever had in her life. Last year, she tied up just once the whole year, and she still won that race. She could get away with it last year, but this year, you can’t. This year, you’ve got to be 110 percent. It’s just been frustrating.”

For her career, Yo Tillie has won 22 of 31 races and earned $1.92 million.

“I love her to death,” Harris said. “I'm hoping she just needs one or two races to click, and that then she gets into a rhythm.”

Racing begins at 6:30 p.m. (EDT) Friday at Woodbine Mohawk Park. The Maple Leaf Trot eliminations are races seven and 10. A preview and links to entries for Friday and Saturday's Grand Circuit cards can be found here.

(USTA)