Bad Boy Matt (Mark MacDonald, $19.20) lasted — barely — from first-up Saturday night, winning Yonkers Raceway’s $32,000 Open Handicap Pace.
Spectating early from post position No. 5, “Matt” saw 3-10 favourite Bit Of A Legend N (Jordan Stratton) and fresh pari-mutuel Lasix Roland N Rock (Dan Dube) both leave inside of him.
“Roland” was able to get away cheap enough (:28 flat opening quarter-mile, :56.4 intermission) before Bad Boy Matt moved to challenge from fifth. Roland N Rock continued to lead in and out of a 1:25.2 three-quarters.
Despite the seemingly-comfy fractions, “Roland” was foldin’ off the final turn. This did nothing for the cause of a trapped-in Bit Of A Legend N as Bad Boy Matt opened some daylight early in the lane.
Bit Of A Legend N finally saw the passing lane and closed relentlessly, but ran out of racetrack. Bad Boy Matt’s nose was at the line first in 1:53. A season-debuting Ideal Cowboy (Jason Bartlett) was a fast-moving third, with Dream Out Loud N (George Brennan) and Justified (Eric Abbatiello) rounding out the payees. Roland N Rock faded to seventh.
For third choice Bad Boy Matt, a six-year-old Badlands Hanover co-owned by Legacy Racing of Delaware and Reginald Hazzard II and trained by Wayne Givens, the win was his third in nine seasonal starts. The exacta paid $37.80, with the triple returning $303.50.
Saturday night also saw the season’s fastest mile(s) -- a pair of 1:51.3 efforts by Lunar Tide N (Shaun Vallee) and Mattamerican (Bartlett).
Also, when 28-1 Keystone Honor (Brennan, $59.50), 35-1 Aberdeen Hanover (Pat Lachance) and 9-1 Life Up Front (Stratton) crossed the line 1-2-3 in the 11th race, it resulted in a $12,299 triple, richest locally thus far in 2016.
(With files from Yonkers Raceway)