Yonkers Raceway and the Standardbred Owners Association of New York have announced a free, $10,000 online handicapping contest which will begin this coming Tuesday, November 19.

The contest is to be coordinated through Trackmaster and shall be run through that site. Free past performances pages for the designated contest dates will be offered by the site. Registration is now open.

The preliminary dates are all Tuesdays (November 19 and 26 and December 3, 10 and 17). The final round is set for Saturday, December 21, Yonkers' final racing program of the season.

Contestants are required to make a mythical $20 Win bet on eight Yonkers races of their choice on a given program, with the top 10 ‘bankrolls’ after each round qualifying for the final. Contestants (who have to be at least 18 years of age, as per state law) may enter each week, but may only qualify once for the final.

In terms of prizes for each of the prelim rounds, it's $500 for first place, $250 for second place, $200 for third, $150 for fourth and $100 for fifth.

As for the final: $2,500 to the winner, $1,000 for the runner-up and $500 for third place. The $10,000 prize pool is a partnership between Yonkers and the SOA of New York.

"We're extremely happy to offer this contest," general manager Bob Galterio said. "It's a tremendous incentive for the regular Yonkers player, as well as for those who may not have looked at our product in a while. You get to watch and 'wager' on the best harness product available, and if you're good enough, make some money for the holiday season."

"We welcome the chance to partner with Yonkers any time, and we're sure this contest is going to prove very popular," said SOA of New York President Joe Faraldo.

(Yonkers)