Yonkers Raceway -- and a healthy Pick 5 -- both returned Saturday night.
Buoyed by a $25,569.51 carryover and a $60,000 guaranteed pool, $58,454.62 was invested with confidence, leaving a total pool (after takeout) of $69,410.53.
The winning combination of #1 (Backstreet Hanover), #1 (Orillia Joe), #4 (Fort Knox), #5 (Rock On Moe) and #6 (Lorenzo Dream) returned $623.75 for every 50-cent winning ticket. Note that to spice things up, the first two races in the sequence were both contested with 10 horses at an added distance (1-1/4 miles and 1-1/16 miles, respectively).
Saturday’s $42,000 tri-features were won by:
--(Filly and Mare Open Handicap Pace)--Alhambra (catch-driver Jason Bartlett, $10.40) in 1:53.3;
--(Open Pace)--The Real One (Pat Lachance, $4.90) in 1:51.2;
--Open Handicap Trot--Backstreet Hanover (Tyler Buter, $6) in 2:26 (again, 1-1/4 miles).
Special Saturday props to the Hilltop Helper, a free handicapping sheet compiled and distributed by the Standardbred Owners Association of New York. The certified expert sniffed out the winning Pick 5 numbers with a mere $36 investment.
New York Sire Stakes visit downstate Monday night, with Yonkers hosting the $166,375 Art Watson Pace (three divisions) for three-year-old fillies.
The Raceway’s five-program-per-week schedule is now back in vogue, with first post every Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:10 p.m., with Tuesday matinees at 1 p.m. (a “French-centric” Tuesday this week). Evening simulcasting accompanies all nighttime programs, with afternoon simulcasting available daily.
(Yonkers Raceway)