YONKERS, NY, Friday, May 4, 2012—Celebrity Bluechip (Jason Bartlett) was up on
the line Friday night, winning Yonkers Raceway's $33,000 Open Handicap Trot.
Leaving from post position No. 3, he sat quietly as last week's upset winner,
Coach Fox (Larry Stalbaum) worked around Genesis Royal Oak (Brent Holland)
before a 28-second opening quarter-mile.
Farifant (Mark MacDonald), who floated out for a seat, then advanced toward the
leader before a :57.1 intermission. Celebrity Bluechip was able to slip out
when 9-5 favorite Aisling (Eric Goodell) badly gapped from second-over.
The pursuer turned up the pressure in and out of a 1:25.4 three-quarters, with
Farifant eventually grinding Coach Fox into submission. Farifant owned a short
lead into the lane, and led every step until the last one. Celebrity Bluechip
won by a schnozz in a life-best 1:55.1. The minor awards went to an on-the-scene-late
Flex the Muscle (Jeff Gregory), Coach Fox and Aisling.
For Celebrity Bluechip, a 5-year-old statebred Credit Winner gelding co-owned
(as Burke Racing) by (trainer) Ron Burke, Weaver Bruscemi, Panhellenic Stable
Crop. and M1 Stable, he returned $10 (second choice) for his second win in 13
seasonal starts. The exacta paid $83, with the triple returning $349.50.
Special Friday night props to Rookie Mistake (Stalbaum), who won the $17,000,
second-race trot in 1:55...the fastest local mile of the season and a track
record for aged geldings.
The
Raceway's five-night-per-week (Monday/Tuesday/Thursday/Friday/Saturday) live
schedule continues. First post for all programs remains at 7:10 PM.
Evening simulcasting accompanies all live programs, with afternoon simulcasting
available around the NYRA schedule (note Saturday's Kentucky Derby card from
Churchill Downs begins at 10:30 AM).
