After three preliminary rounds and sufficient whittling, the field is set for Tuesday night’s $85,000 final of the Bonus Trotting Series.
The event, co-sponsored by Yonkers Raceway and the Standardbred Owners Association of the New York, goes as the ninth of 11 races. Post time is the usual 6:50 p.m.
Seasoned Saint (Jim Marohn, Jr., post 2) was the only perfect participant, winning all three of his series starts.
The five-year-old Deweycheatumnhowe gelding, co-owned by (trainer) Rene Allard, Bruce Soulsby and Alan Weisenberg, has won six of his 10 seasonal starts and half of his 32 career efforts.
Allard also co-owns (with Blue Chip Bloodstock and John Lengacher) and trains the lone lass, Romancing Rachel (Mark MacDonald, post 3).
The four-year-old daughter of Muscle Hill won her first two starts before a tiring pocket third in the final leg. ‘Rachel’ has hit the board in nine of her 11 seasonal tries.
Due to overlapping ownership, Optimist Blue Chip (Andy Miller, post 4) completes this three-pronged posse. The four-year-old Deweycheatumnhowe gelding, owned by Blue Chip Bloodstock and trained by Julie Miller, has gone 1-2-3 in his series starts.
Bluebird Jesse (George Brennan, post 1) was another prelim ‘two-timer,’ the wins sandwiching a race mired by incessant road trouble.
The four-year-old Jailhouse Jesse gelding is trained by Scott DiDomenico co for-owners Brian Carsey, John McGill and Adam Friedland.
Ei Ei O (Scott Zeron, post 8) also won twice before being victimized by an interference break a week ago. The four-year-old son of pacing stallion Cam’s Rocket is owned and trained by Arlene Cameron.
Aces And Eights (Ray Schnittker, post 5), Icanflylikeanangel (Jeff Gregory, post 6) and Tyson (Yannick Gingras, post 7) each had a win in the series, the first two of this set at 14-1 odds.
The ‘bonus’ portion of the series title is an additional $10,000 SOA payday to the winner, provided the owner(s), trainer and driver(s) of the horse throughout the series were association members before the first draw of the series.
A $35,000 series consolation goes as the fourth race.
(Yonkers)