Fans and industry participants will want to mark their calendars with a number of schedule changes coming to MGM Yonkers Raceway throughout the rest of 2023.
The most notable calendar alteration involves the $1 million MGM Yonkers International Trot moving from Sept. 23 to Sept. 9. Along with that change comes a post time switch, as the races on Sept. 9 will commence at 12 p.m. (Eastern Time), while the card on the 23rd will revert to the normal 7 p.m. time slot.
In addition to the MGM Yonkers International Trot, the Sept. 9 program will include a six-figure Invitational race for older pacers, one for older trotters, and eight $225,000 New York Sire Stakes championships. Total purses on the card will be well over $3 million.
As a result of the date switch, there will be no live racing on Friday, Sept. 8.
Starting with the week of May 1, MGM Yonkers Raceway will drop Wednesdays from its weekly schedule and replace it with Saturday racing, thus creating a Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday schedule through Sept.30. At that point, live racing will revert back to a Monday to Friday schedule until Dec. 20. The lone exceptions are the addition of Wednesday, July 26 to the calendar and a Monday, Tuesday only schedule during the week of U.S. Thanksgiving.
The first Saturday card on May 6 will be drawn along with Friday, May 5 on Monday, May 1. The entry box closes at 3 p.m.
The final change to report is actually the first to occur. On Kentucky Derby Day (May 6), MGM Yonkers Raceway will offer a first race post time of 4 p.m.
All of the above changes are pending New York Gaming Commission approval.
(Yonkers Raceway)