The preliminary rounds of the MGM Borgata Pacing Series conclude on Monday night (April 12) at Yonkers Raceway with three $40,000 divisions in races four, five, and six.
The first section showcases four horses who have tasted success during the event in Backstreet Shadow (post one, Tim Tetrick), San Domino A (post three, Todd McCarthy/Nancy Takter), Lyons Steel (post five, Corey Callahan/Dennis Watson), and Western Joe (post six, Dexter Dunn/Chris Choate). Backstreet Shadow, San Domino A and Lyons Steel both have won once in the series, and Western Joe enters having won his last two appearances.
None of the entrants in race five’s second split have picked up a victory in this year’s MGM Borgata Pacing Series, so a new face will get a big boost to their point total. The horse that looks to be in the best form is Mach N Cheese (post three, Joe Bongiorno/Edwin Quevedo), as he has finished second and third the past couple of weeks.
In contrast to that tilt, the final flight (race six) features two horses that are both three-for-three in the series in Leonidas A (post one, Austin Siegelman/Sheena Mcelhiney) and Hesa Kingslayer N (post five, Jim Marohn Jr./Mike Deters). Also entered in that contest is This Is The Plan (post six, Yannick Gingras/Ron Burke), who has a record of 1-3-0 in four MGM Borgata Pacing Series efforts and prevailed in 1:51.1 on April 5.
Prior to that stakes action, Yonkers will play host to four $20,000 divisions of the second leg of the John Brennan Trotting Series on Wednesday night (April 7). Opening round winners Guilty Desire (race five/post six, Jordan Stratton/Betty Clegg), Hunting AS (race six/post one, Todd McCarthy/Jenny Melander), Look In My Eyes (race six/post eight, Jordan Stratton/Anette Lorentzon), and Lady Jeter (race seven/post four, Scott Zeron/Ed Gannon Jr.) are all back in action.
Then, on Friday (April 9), Yonkers has a pair of $35,000 splits of the final preliminary round of the Blue Chip Matchmaker Series for pacing mares. The first of those races will take place as a non-wagering contest, and the second one is race two on the pari-mutuel program. In the non-wagering tilt, Blue Ivy (post one, Tyler Buter/Todd Buter) and Machnhope (post three, Andrew McCarthy/Noel Daley) will both shoot for their third win in the series, and in the other Blue Chip Matchmaker match-up, Alexa Skye (post four, Todd McCarthy/Jeff Cullipher), currently three-for-three in the event, meets up with one of last Friday’s victors in Siesta Beach (post three, Matt Kakaley/Nick Devita).
Yonkers Raceway has a Monday-Friday live racing schedule, with first post at 7:15 p.m.
(Yonkers)