The final leg of the NAADA Winter Trotting Series was contested at Monticello Raceway on Wednesday afternoon (March 30) and once again both Bob Kenney and Bobby Krivelin emerged victorious.

Both gentlemen also copped the previous legs at Yonkers Raceway on March 17. But this time each reined a different horse home first; Kenney scored with Just Like Lloyd in 2:00 while Krivelin won with Permanent Joy in 2:00.2.

The afternoon fans were treated brilliant sunshine and a bright blue ski, but gusting winds and temperatures hovering around 58-degrees kept a chill in the air.

In the first split, Bobby Krivelin worked himself a great two-hole trip with Permanent Joy and he refused a parked-out Boysdroolgirlsrule (Joe Lee) any room to move down along the pylons in front of him.

Nautilus De Vie and Dave Yarock had surged to the lead with Krivelin and Permanent Joy in hot pursuit and both trotters raced one-two around the double oval. During the entire mile, Boysdroolgirlsrule challenged while racing on the outside.

In the lane, Krivelin moved his charge to the outside of Nautilus De Vie as Boydroolgirlsrule faded after his overland trip and Permanent Joy rallied to a one-length victory. Sams Honeybee rallied from far back for third money.

Krivelin was pleased when interviewed in the (race) paddock after the race.

“He [Permanent Joy] never gets a harness on him [between races]. I keep him out in a special pasture and only tow him along with another horse when we jog,” Krivelin related. “He has a sore back so we like to keep the harness off him.”

Krivelin’s Hero Stable owns the winner and Krivelin also doubles as the trotter’s trainer. He paid $4.80 for win.

For the New York City food purveyor, it was his fourth victory in the series and he will garner the trophy as the highest point-earner of the nine-race NAADA Winter Series.

In the other split, Bob Kenny took no prisoners and sent Just Like Lloyd down the road and they made every pole a winning one en route to short head victory over a stubborn Woody (Joe Lee).

In that one, Just Like Lloyd drew off to an open-lengths lead with only Woody within striking distance when they headed for paydirt.

Lee stalked the leader and when he pulled Woody out to challenge in mid-stretch, they began closing in on the leader, but they ran out of racetrack and finished second in the photo.

Kenney, an IT Technician from Belchertown, Massachusetts, is a relative newcomer to the amateur driving scene although he has been with and around harness horses since his then-girlfriend Linda Parrotta introduced him to harness racing back in 1972 at Hinsdale Raceway where her dad raced horses.

"At that time, Linda was my girlfriend and she still is after 42 wonderful years of marriage,” Kenney said joyfully after he and Linda had explained his introduction to harness racing while they walked back with the winner to the horse’s paddock stall.

Kenney, a big man at 6ft-5in, now has three wins, one second and three thirds this year in just nine starts. With just 15 drives since 2014, Kenney has reined seven winners.

The winner is owned by Linda Kenney and The Di Stefano And Son Stable and trained by John DiStefano. He paid $5.30 for win.

The $15,000 series final will be raced at Yonkers Raceway on Thursday, April 7, although a $6,000 consolation, if it fills, is offered at Monticello Raceway on Wednesday, April 6.

(With files from NAADA)