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Saturday, October 13, 2012

YR - OR WINS SATURDAY NIGHT 44G OPEN HANDICAP PACE


BY FRANK DRUCKER, Publicity Director, Empire City @ Yonkers Raceway

YONKERS, NY, Saturday, October 13, 2012--Or (Brent Holland), assigned the inside as the wagering outsider, picked off favored Code Word (Jason Bartlett) Saturday night, winning Yonkers Raceway's $44,000 Open Handicap Pace.

Code Word, last week's wire-to-wire winner and this week's 9-10 favorite, had few issues making the lead from post position No. 6. After a :27.2 opening quarter-mile and :56.2 intermission,  P H Jackpot (George Brennan) moved from fourth. That one challenged the leader through the 1:24.4 three-quarters before being summarily dismissed.

Meanwhile, Code Word looked comfy with a two-length lead into the lane. However, Or popped the pocket and closed steadily, snapping the people's choice by a half-length in 1:52.4. Iwannarace Hanover (Jordan Stratton), Aussie Reactor A (Eric Goodell) and Great Vintage (Jeff Gregory) rounded out the payees.

For Or, a 6-year-old Western Terror gelding owned by T R Stables and trained by Mike Temming, he returned $35.20 for his fifth win in 23 seasonal starts. The exacta paid $126.50, with the triple returning $751. 

Special Saturday mentions to $1.2 million earner Real Nice (Stratton, $2.30), whose win in the $33,500, seventh-race pace (1:53) was the 40th  of his career (including the 2011 final of the George Morton Levy Memorial Pacing Series) . 

Another millionaire, the 10-year-old gelding Silent Swing (Mark MacDonald, $6.80), had win No. 61 (in start 226), going the distance in the $36,000, eighth-race pace (1:52.2).

Also, a salute to driver Steve Smith and trainer Karen Garland, who swept the popular ($7.30) early double with Down Under veterans High Octane N ($3.70) and Forest Vic A ($4.10). The latter, a 13-year-old gelding moving toward $800,000 lifetime, won his 46th career race in his 251st  lifetime start. 

The Raceway continues its normal five-night-per-week live schedule, with first post every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:10 PM. Evening simulcasting accompanies all live programs, with afternoon simulcasting available around the NYRA schedule.