As the finish line has moved positions over the years at MGM Yonkers Raceway, so has the starting point of each race.
Somewhere along the line, it was decided to “quick start” the races well before the actual starting point to allow horses on the outside of the gate a better opportunity to leave for position. That practice was officially halted on June 5.
This was done in order to comply with United States Trotting Association's rule 16.05, and in the interest of consistency from track to track, races are now starting much closer to the finish line, which at Yonkers is just before the first turn. The USTA rule states: “The starting point will be appropriately marked a distance of not less than two hundred feet from the first turn. The starter shall give the word 'go' at the starting point.”
“Horses were racing at distances well over a mile for way too long, and it wasn’t fair to the public to list the races as one mile,” said Yonkers Raceway's Racing Secretary Joe Frasure, who was part of the conversation to make the change, along with the presiding judge and starter. “It is important for us to be consistent with the other tracks in the state and the country.”
Triple Crown elimination races on the horizon
Entries for the eliminations of the MGM Yonkers Trot (Grade 2) and MGM Grand Messenger Pace (Grade 2) are due on Monday, June 16. The eliminations, if necessary, will whittle the fields down to eight entrants for the finals on Friday, June 27. There are 41 trotting colts eligible to the $300,000 USD Yonkers Trot and 37 pacing colts eligible to enter the $225,000 USD (est.) Messenger. Both races represent the first legs of the Trotting and Pacing Triple Crowns, respectively. Horses not eligible may supplement to either race for $25,000 USD.
Yonkers will have an altered schedule during the week of June 16, with live racing daily from Monday through Saturday. New York Sire Stakes for two-year-old colt pacers will take place on Thursday, June 19. Post time each night is 6:45 p.m.
(With files from Yonkers Raceway)