YONKERS, NY, Monday, June 10, 2013--Yonkers Raceway returns from hiatus Friday
night, with the statebreds making their downstate seasonal debut.
The $351,656 New York Sire Stakes Hugh Grant Pace brings together the Empire's
glamour division, with 3-year-old colts and geldings having their first
rendezvous. A barbershop quartet of events, going as races 2,4,6 and 7,
comprise the event.
Doctor Butch, last seen in these environs winning the $275,000 final of the Art
Rooney Pace (with George Brennan driving) earlier this month, drew position No.
3 in the final ($88,314) event. Jim Morrill Jr., takes a first-time seat behind
the son of Art Major for owner Ken Jacobs and trainer Linda Toscano.
"Butch," who wired the Rooney as a $30,000 supplemental entrant in a
parimutuel-best 1:51.2, have never missed the board in 14 career starts (nine
wins, four seconds, one third) with earnings of $486,711.
Among his rivals Friday is Sir Cary's Z Tam (Pat Lachance, post 2). The son of
Bettor's Delight, co-owned and trained by his driver, won his elim for the
Rooney (1:54.1) before closing for third in the final.
The first ($86,714) Grant get-together includes Framed Art (Mark MacDonald,
post 6), a solid sire stakes performer a 1season ago. The Artiscape colt,
co-owned and trained by Andrew Stafford, was third (to Doctor Butch) in the '12
final of the NYSS here, completing a $150,000-plus season.
Friday night's second ($88,314) statebred event has Rooney finalist Bet the
Moon (Brennan, post 3) and, in the spirit of an Original Six Stanley Cup Final,
Olde Time Hockey (Brian Sears, post 4).
The former, a son of Bettor's Delight trained by Ron Burke for owner Edwin
Gold, made more than $182,000 as a 2-year-old. The latter, an Art Major gelding
owned by David Van Wart and trained by Tom Fanning, was unraced as a frosh.
However, he's done a bang-up job playing catch-up, as evidenced by a life-best
1:50.3 effort at the Meadowlands.
The third ($88,314) division finds Hail the Taxi (John Campbell, post 4)
returning to the scene of his greatest triumph. The son of Art Major, trained
by Jim Campbell for Fashion Farms closed for a 35-1 upset in the $119,000 final
of the Lawrence B. Sheppard Pace (stakes-record 1:54.1) last summer. He then
added a sire stakes win here during a $215,836 frosh season.
After
programs Friday and Saturday, the Raceway's five-night-per-week schedule
resumes next week, 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.
