Post positions have been drawn for the opening rounds of Yonkers Raceway’s Blue Chip Matchmaker and MGM Borgata Pacing Series.
Friday night offers three, $40,000 Matchmaker divisions (races 2, 4 and 6) for the premier mares, and it didn’t take long for Shartin N (Tim Tetrick, post 1) and Caviart Ally (Andrew McCarthy, post 5) to get acquainted, both drawing into the first grouping.
The two-time defending series champ - and current Horse of the Year in the U.S. - Shartin N returns to town for her first visit since winning last season’s finale, included in a 42-for-57, $2.2 million career resume.
The seven-year-old Down Under daughter of Tintin In America began her season with a 1:50 flat win at Dover.
Caviart Ally also wasted no time getting her picture taken in 2020, a 1:49.4 effort across the river. The six-year-old daughter of Bettors Delight enters with 26 wins in 73 career starts ($1.9 million).
Friday night’s second division includes last season’s Matchmaker runner-up, Bettor Joy N (Tetrick, post 4) and Apple Bottom Jeans (Corey Callahan, post 6). Both ladies find their way back from Delaware for this series, having finished third (Apple Bottom Jeans) and fourth (Bettor Joy N), respectively, to Shartin N a week ago.
The final Matchmaker get-together is led by Seaswift Joy N (Jim Marohn, Jr., post 2), a seven-year-old Down Under Bettors Delight miss fresh off a 10-win, $263,000 2019 season.
Saturday night finds four consecutively-contested, $50,000 Borgata (nee George Morton Levy Memorial) divisions, going as races 5 through 8.
The opening event of Free-For-All lads features the rock-solid None Bettor A (Tetrick, post 2) meeting up with Rodeo Rock (Eric Goodell, post 4) and millionaire-in-waiting Sintra (George Brennan, post 7).
The second division is led by the series champ of a year ago, Western Fame (Dan Dube, post 7). The seven-year-old son of Western Ideal won seven races and in excess of $704,000 last season.
Saturday night’s third Borgata event includes weekly Local Open Handicap standout Jacks Legend N (Jason Bartlett, post 4), Trump Nation (Brennan, post 6) and Lyons Steel (Pat Lachance, post 7).
The fourth and final grouping goes through the red-hot Backstreet Shadow (Tetrick, post 2), who eyes a fifth consecutive victory, the first four all down at Dover.
Both the Blue Chip Matchmaker and Borgata offer five preliminary rounds leading to finals set for Saturday, April 18.
(Yonkers)
Unless Backstreet Shadow's
Unless Backstreet Shadow's 1:48.3 mile at Dover does not count...
Along with Shartin N and
Along with Shartin N and Caviart Ally, there's a third very notable entrant in the first division of The Matchmaker: Major Occasion A, who drew the outside post 7, has earned by far more money ($62,100) in 2020 than any other horse entered in The Matchmaker, and is the only horse entered in the stakes who has paced a sub-1:50 mile on a 5/8ths mile track so far this year.