A Baskin-Robbins-approved 31 horses have entered the opening round of Yonkers Raceway's George Morton Levy Memorial Pacing Series. That number necessitated four, $50,0000 divisions Saturday night
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Post time for the 11-race card is 7:10 p.m., with the Levy races going as Nos. 7 through 10.
The million-dollar (est.) series, the Raceway's premier Free-For-All event, is comprised of five preliminary legs, contested over consecutive Saturdays, leading to a $200,000 (est.) final May 2. The series, begun in 1978 and reinstituted in 2007 after an 11-year hiatus, is named for the founder of Roosevelt Raceway who was inducted into the Harness Racing Hall of Fame in 1966.
Saturday night's first Levy event is led by Share The Delight (Yannick Gingras, Post 4), who crosses the river with back-to-back wins to his credit.
The four-year-old statebred son of Bettors Delight, trained by Linda Toscano for Colorado co-owners The Four Horsemen Stable and Algonquin Farms, is fresh from a career-best 1:50.1 effort last weekend.
McCedes (Gingras also listed, Post 1) makes his second start back after a $428,000 season in 2008. The four-year-old McArdle gelding, trained by Ron Burke for Burke Racing, Weaver Bruscemi, JJK Stables and James Koran, won the $500,000 New Jersey Classic as a sophomore.
The second Levy division finds millionaire Palone Ranger (Cat Manzi, Post 1) looking to remain locally sharp. The six-year-old son of Western Ideal, who won the '06 Messenger at Yonkers, has rattled off a pair of handy Westchester overnight wins. Greg Peck trains for Four Friends Racing Stable.
Special Report (Larry Stalbaum, Post 5)--like "Palone" a seven-figure career performer--begins defense of his 2008 Levy. The seven-year-old Keystone Raider gelding, owned by Hugo Iodice and trained by Kimberly Asher, is looking for a 50th career victory.
The third Levy grouping includes King Cat Anvil N (Jordan Stratton, Post 1), a rock-solid Open Handicap combatant who won last week's local feature a season's-best 1:53.4. The seven-year-old Down Under Christian Cullen gelding, owned by John Kiwczak and trained by David Stratton, went up and over the half-million-dollar career earnings plateau earlier this season.
The last seating of the first Levy week includes Blueridge Western (Jason Bartlett, Post 2), who has been freakishly good of late. The four-year-old Allamerican Ingot gelding threw out a life-best 1:49.4 effort at the Meadowlands two Saturdays ago, then returned to Yonkers with a 1:52.2 last Saturday.
That effort matched the fastest local mile of the season. "Blueridge," trained by Kevin McDermott for owner Francis Azur, is closing in on $800,000 in lifetime loot. He banked nearly 600-large in '08, winning the $215,000 final of the Berry's Creek.
Driver Ryan Anderson finds himself triple-listed early behind J P Jackpot (Post 1), Booze Cruzin (Post 4) and Riggins (Post 7). "Jackpot" won the $60,000 Dominic Frinzi Invitational here to begin his season, Booze Cruzin has been a scourge in Illinois throughout his solid career, while Riggins was a standout New York Sire Stakes performer at two and three and has hit the board in all five (Meadowlands) tries this season as an "old man" of four.
Saturday night's 11-race card also includes six, $12,500 trials in Round 2 of the Sagamore Hill Pacing Series for three and four-year-olds. Those races go as the first half-dozen on the program.
Friday night offers three, $40,000 divisions in the opening round of the new Blue Chip Matchmaker (Open Mare Pace), along with four, $12,500 divisions in Round 2 of the Petticoat Pacing Series (three- and four-year-old fillies and mares).
(Yonkers)