Longshots Light It Up At Yonkers
Those who hung around for the latter portion of Yonkers Raceway's Monday program saw their eyeballs explode along with the tote board.
It began with the $26,500, 11th-race pace, with 56-1 shot Winter Retreat A (Dan Dube) getting up on the money to whip 5-1 Rafferty Hanover (Brent Holland) by a head in 1:53.3. Mr Salming (Larry Stalbaum) was third at 28-1.
The resulting payoffs of $114.50 and $32,626 (base $2 wager) were high local win and triple mutuels of the season to date. The exacta “only” paid $1,180, “only” because it’s not a local season’s-best.
The ensuing $14,500, 12th-race pacing finale was won by 24-1 Lexus Artist (Tyler Buter), who chased a first-up 21-1 Dawgs Buddy (Steve Smith) before beating that one by a head in 1:56. Betterthanicecream (Holland) was third at 27-1, with 9-2 African Queen (Cat Manzi) was fourth.
The $4,262 late double (Nos. 8 and 6) dwarfed 2012's previous high double ($764) and left stat meister Fred Opper scrambling to see if there was anything close for that wagering gimmick in recent - or not-so-recent - memory.
The other final-race exotics returned $657 (exacta), $4,443 (triple) and $24,040 (superfecta, base $2 wager), respectively.
(Yonkers Raceway)