This week's Blue Chip Matchmaker and George Morton Levy series opening legs at Yonkers Raceway mark the opening of the 2017 Grand Circuit season.
Schedule of events: The Grand Circuit at Yonkers features three $40,000 divisions on Friday (March 17) in the first round of the Blue Chip Matchmaker series for open pacing mares. The Saturday (March 18) card at Yonkers will see four $50,000 divisions in the opening round of the George Morton Levy series for open pacers.
Friday night’s three $40,000 Matchmaker melees (races four, five and six) are comprised of 24 of the best pacing mares in training.
Saturday night offers four $50,000 Levy groupings (races five through eight), including Bit Of A Legend N. The defending series champ drew post position No. 2 in the final division, with Jordan Stratton driving for owner Harry von Knoblauch and trainer Peter Tritton. A total of 31 leading Free-For-Allers declared their intentions for the first series go-round.
Both series include five preliminary rounds leading to their respective (Saturday, April 22) finals.
Complete entries for the races can be found by clicking on this link.
Grand Circuit standings: In 2017, the Grand Circuit leaders in three categories (driver, trainer and owner) will once again be tracked on a points system (20-10-5 for the top three finishers in divisions/finals and 10-5-2 for the top three finishers in eliminations/legs). Winbak Farms is the sponsor for the 2017 Grand Circuit awards.
Looking ahead: Grand Circuit action will continue with legs of the Blue Chip Matchmaker and George Morton Levy over the next four weekends. The finals and consolations for both events will be held on April 22.
(with files from the Grand Circuit)