'Bittersweet' seems such a woefully inadequate adjective to describe Tuesday afternoon’s first race at Yonkers Raceway.

The $8,000 pacing event was won by a first-up Bakersfield (catch-driver Pat Lachance, $8.10) in a season’s-best 1:54.4.

The five-year-old American Ideal gelding is owned, trained and just about exclusively driven by Jeff Dauplaise. The victory, Bakersfield’s second of the season, came one day after Dauplaise’s mother, Carol, was struck and killed by a livery cab while walking near her home on Manhattan’s east side.

Mrs. Dauplaise, 77, was a prominent jeweller and the widow of former New York area driving standout Norman Dauplaise. Under the Saddle Rock Stables banner, the family has bred and raced any number of successful horses. According to the US Trotting Association’s David Carr, 18 of those horses have earned at least six figures, led by Carolsideal ($439,771), Mr Music ($315,459), Knight N Armor ($297,449) and Twofour Eight ($286,442).

(Yonkers Raceway)