B Yoyo took control early, then rated the middle half before kicking home a dominant three-length winner in the Friday night (May 5) feature at The Meadowlands, an $18,000 conditioned trot.
The seven-year-old gelded son of Striking Sahbra powered up to the lead at the quarter in :27.3, then backed down the fractions to :56.4 and 1:25.2 as the outer flow was slow to develop. At the head of the stretch, B Yoyo drew clear of the field after an unpressured journey and scored with ease as 2012 Hambletonian winner Market Share, who sat in the pocket throughout, finished second while never threatening. J A T O was a fast-closing third.
B Yoyo, the even-money favourite, returned $4.20 to win and completed the mile in 1:53.2 for driver Joe Bongiorno and trainer Richard Johnson. The winner now has four victories in 15 starts this year and upped his lifetime stats to 28-for-131, good for earnings of just over $358,000.
Enterprise, trained by Marcus Melander and driven by Tim Tetrick, won for the second time in as many 2017 starts in a clocking of 1:54.2. The three-year-old son of Chapter Seven is perfect in three lifetime outings.
The Big M welcomed back Dave Brower after a six-year hiatus to the track’s in-house simulcast show. He will serve in that capacity as well as morning-line oddsmaker and track program analyst. Brower is also part of the team on the national television presentation of the Hambletonian.
All-source handle on the program totalled $2,182,096.
Racing resumes Saturday at 7:15 p.m. featuring the $200,000 Arthur J. Cutler Memorial for trotters.
(With files from Meadowlands Racetrack)