Favourite Clear Vision (George Brennan, $4.30) went the distance Saturday night (July 1st), winning Yonkers Raceway’s $55,000 Open Handicap Pace.
In play from assigned post position No. 5, Clear Vision made his way around Betterlatethnnever (Eric Goodell) as the race turned into a two-speed number (:27.2, :56.3, 1:24.2, 1:52). The final margin was a length and three-quarters, with Dream Out Loud N (Shaun Vallee) a three-hole third. Betting Exchange (Brent Holland) was a four-hole fourth, while Bit If A Legend N (Jordan Stratton) was a badly-compromised fifth.
For Clear Vision, an 11-year-old Western Hanover gelding co-owned by Robert Santagata & Jennifer Lappe and trained by John Kokinos, the win was his sixth in 16 seasonal starts (career earnings over $2.7 million). The exacta paid $23.30, the triple returned $112.50 and the superfecta paid $346.
Sunday matinees return tomorrow (July 2), with an all-trot, dozen race card and a first post of 12:30 p.m. Races three through six are ‘French’-themed, all with large fields at the mile-and-one-quarter distance. There’s also the ‘New York, New York Double,’ comprised of Belmont’s third race (post time 2:37 p.m.) and Yonkers’ seventh race (post time 3:15 p.m.).
(With files from Yonkers Raceway)