Favourites cleaned up in the third and final preliminary leg of the MGM Grand Prix Trotting Series on Friday, Dec. 12 at MGM Yonkers Raceway as Sir Pinocchio, Antognoni S and Dribbling Bi were victorious in their respective $69,444 divisions.
Sir Pinocchio will have a chance at a series sweep in next week's final after his third straight series win, taking the first grouping on Friday in 1:54.3. Sir Pinocchio, driven by Jason Bartlett, showed speed and overcame the outside post six with little difficulty as he cleared Southwind Coors (Yannick Gingras) well before the 28-second opening quarter. From there, Sir Pinocchio continued to show the way to the half in :57.3 and three-quarters in 1:26.1 before he completed the mile with a :28.2 final frame to defeat Southwind Coors by 2-1/2 lengths. Blackhawk Zette (Brent Holland) was third, followed by Security Protected (Cory Stratton) and Big Box Hanover (Todd McCarthy).
Sired by Mets Hall out of Lady Cromwell, the four-year-old gelding Sir Pinocchio is trained by Ed Hart for owner/breeder Carolyn Atherton of Scarsdale, New York. The millionaire trotter earned his 21st career victory while improving his seasonal scorecard to 8-2-1 in 19 starts.
He paid $2.10 to win as the 1-5 choice. The exacta was worth $3.28 and the trifecta $10.54.
Antognoni S, driven by Yannick Gingras, put up fractions of :27.4, :57.3 and 1:26.2 in the next division and went on to tally a 1-1/2-length victory in 1:54.2. Take All Comers (Todd McCarthy), who was looking to go three-for-three in the prelims, had to settle for second from the pocket and Asteroid (Colin Kelly) was third. Escaper (Jim Marohn Jr.) and Ari Ferrari J (Jason Bartlett) completed the top five.
Gingras also co-owns the Ron Burke-trained Antognoni S with partners Burke Racing Stable of Fredericktown, Pennsylvania, Weaver Bruscemi of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania and FAC Racing of Scarsdale, New York. The five-year-old Father Patrick-Bouncing Bax gelding, coming off a 10-length romp in round two, earned his 15th seasonal victory to go along with six other top three finishes in 23 starts. His 21st career win bumped his bankroll to $573,659.
Antognoni S returned $2.36 to win as the 1-9 favourite. He led a $4.64 exacta and a $15.50 trifecta.
Jason Bartlett doubled up in the third leg as Dribbling Bi picked up his initial triumph in the series in 1:55 in the final flight. Away second, Bartlett tipped him off the pylons before the :28.2 quarter and wrestled command away from Cecil Hanover (Yannick Gingras) beyond that marker. Dribbling Bi remained in command through middle-half panels of :58 and 1:26.1 then held off a gaining Cecil Hanover through the lane, scoring by a neck. Hot Flash Kimmy (Cory Stratton) was third over Dire Straits (Matt Kakaley) and Khaosan Road (Daniel Dube).
Ron Coyne Jr. trains Dribbling Bi, a six-year-old gelded son of Cantab Hall and Dream Child, for owner Windermere Stables of New York City, New York. Dribbling Bi improved his seasonal summary to 8-10-5 in 35 starts. His 25th career win pushed his earnings over the $500,000 mark.
Dribbling Bi paid $4.42 to win as the 6-5 favourite. He was atop a $9.02 exacta and a $53.60 trifecta.
Unofficially, the 10 horses that advance to the $250,000 USD MGM Grand Prix Trotting Series final next Friday, Dec. 19 are listed below.
- Sir Pinocchio (150 points)
- Take All Comers (125 points)
- Antognoni S (125 points)
- Dribbling Bi (75 points)
- Southwind Coors (62 points)
- Asteroid (62 points)
- Ari Ferrari J (55 points)
- Ultion Face S (37 points)
- Cecil Hanover (37 points)
- Blackhawk Zette (25 points)
Points for the series were earned on a 50-25-12-8-5 scale (winner gets 50 points, runner-up gets 25, etc.), and a horse had to race in all three legs to be eligible for the final and the $75,000 USD consolation, which will also take place on the same program. These same conditions applied to the companion MGM Grand Prix Pacing Series.
Yonkers will begin the final week of its 2025 meet on Monday, Dec. 15. Post time on Monday through Thursday is 6:45 p.m., while the Friday program will kick off at 2:15 p.m.
(With files from Yonkers Raceway)