A pair of Yonkers Raceway series intersect Friday night, with the opening round of the Blue Chip Matchmaker and the second round of the Petticoat highlighting the dozen-race dossier.
The Matchmaker, featuring 21 of the finest pacing mares in training, will open with a trio of $40,000 divisions (Races 8, 9 and 11).
Shanghai Lil, winner of last season's $364,430 Lady Maud Pace, returns to Yonkers for her 2010 pari-mutuel debut. 'Lil' Post 6 in the first grouping, one of five entrants in the round trained by Mark Ford.
The second Blue Chip Matchmaker includes On the Glass, a winner in her last two local Open Handicap efforts that is five for eight this season. McGibson, winner of the '09 edition of Yonkers' Hopeful Pacing Series, is back after a form spree at the Meadows. Call Me Yours was a solid, first-up winner in last week's distaff derby.
Friday night's final Matchmaker get-together will feature Ramona Disomma, which is fresh off a win in the $115,000 final of Meadowlands' Overbid Series last week. Ginger and Fred, the tiring favourite in that race, drew the pylons for Friday's contest.
The Petticoat, a series for three and four-year-old distaffers, will be contested in a quartet of $12,500 second-round events. Soph Rev Me Up, who easily won the final of the Hopeful earlier this month, whipped her elders in the opening round of the Petticoat one week ago. She has drawn Post 3 in the final division, which has been carded as Race 6.
Stakes action will continue Saturday night, with the opening round of the George Morton Levy Memorial Pacing Series as well as the second round of the Sagamore Hill Pacing Series.
(With files from Yonkers)