Millionaire Dancin Yankee fired out for the lead and had little trouble with the field or the sloppy surface, cruising to victory in a sharp 1:53 in Friday’s $18,000 Preferred Handicap Pace at The Meadows.
The win gave Dave Palone and trainer Ron Burke a sweep of the track’s four Preferred events for the week.
The pocket-sitting Dapper Dude finished second, 2-1/4 lengths back, with the first-over Arthur Pendragon completing the ticket.
Burke Racing Stable campaigns Dancin Yankee, an 11-year-old Yankee Cruiser-Dancewiththebest gelding who boosted his career bankroll to $1,879,907.
Palone and Burke each collected four victories on the 12-race card, and each tallied 13 wins for the week. In other highlights of the week:
Looped from the gate, Party At The Banks made the lead at her leisure and powered off to her second straight victory in Wednesday’s $20,000 Filly & Mare Preferred Handicap Trot. The five-year-old daughter of Break The Bank K-Beach Party As triumphed in 1:54.2 over Youre Majestic, with CR Blazin Beauty third.
Palone steered Party At The Banks, who lifted her lifetime earnings to $145,923, for Burke and owners Burke Racing Stable and Weaver Bruscemi LLC.
Burke fashioned a four-bagger on the 12-race program while Mike Wilder and Palone each piloted three winners. Chris Shaw provided the day’s tote board pyrotechnics when he guided Woman Possessed home at a lush 55-1.
Windsun Glory made it two straight to start her six-year-old campaign with a front-end win in Tuesday’s $20,000 Filly & Mare Preferred Handicap Pace. The daughter of Mach Three-Windsun Princess repelled a serious first-over challenge from Bontz N to score in 1:52.2 for Palone. The pocket-sitting Touchamatic was second, 1-1/2 lengths back, while Bontz N saved show.
Burke conditions Windsun Glory, who extended her career bankroll to $390,368, for Burke Racing Stable, Weaver Bruscemi LLC, J&T Silva Stables and Larry Karr. Wilder garnered four wins on the 13-race program while Brady Brown, Jim Pantaleano and Burke each enjoyed a triple.
Dayson, whose most recent victory made him a millionaire, kicked off his 2019 campaign in similar fashion with an easy win in Monday’s $20,000 Preferred Handicap Trot. Although Dayson hadn’t raced since the day after Christmas, Palone steered him aggressively with a quarter-pole move in the slop. The six-year-old Conway Hall-Nervey’s Taurus gelding prevailed in 1:56, 1-1/2 lengths better than the pocket-sitting Bluebird Jesse, with Chef Lee third.
Burke trains Dayson, who now has banked $1,011,712, for Burke Racing Stable, Weaver Bruscemi LLC, Larry Karr and J&T Silva-Purnel&Libby. Tony Hall and Palone each collected four wins on the 13-race card.
Live racing at The Meadows resumes Monday, when the program features a $512.84 carryover in the final-race Super Hi-5. First post 1:05 p.m.
(The Meadows)