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Wednesday, July 15, 2015

YONKERS HOSTS 107G FINAL OF LAWRENCE B. SHEPPARD PACE SATURDAY

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

YONKERS, NY, Tuesday, July 14, 2015—Elimination winners Tailgunner Hanover (Ray Schnittker) and Do Over Hanover (Jason Bartlett) drew post position Nos. 3 and 8, respectively, for Saturday night’s $107,500 final of Yonkers Raceway’s Lawrence B. Sheppard Pace.

Yonkers’ premier event for “open” 2-year-old pacing colts and geldings honors the man who made Hanover Shoe Farms North America’s leading standardbred breeding operation. Fittingly, both elim winners are Hanover-breds.

“Tailgunner,” a $50,000 Well Said colt co-owned (with Joe Sbrocco, Frank Baldassare and Howard Taylor) by his trainer/driver, has won two of three career starts. He romped a week ago, never giving any of his rivals a shot in a 6¼-length victory.

His life-best 1:56.1 effort was the exact same time as Do Over Hanover’s maiden-breaking, 3¾-length win in the earlier elimination. The $25,000 Western Ideal colt is trained by Jim Campbell for co-owners Jeffrey & Michael Snyder and Robert Unice.

The Sheppard, carded as the fifth of a dozen Saturday races (approximate post time 8:30 PM), drew out as such…1-Autotone Hanover (Tyler Buter), 2-War-N-Munn (Dan Dube), 3-Tailgunner Hanover (Ray Schnittker), 4-Artmagic (Mark MacDonald), 5-Rodeo Rock (Dube also listed), 6-Endeavor (Pat Lachance), 7-Gleneagles (George Brennan), 8-Do Over Hanover (Jason Bartlett).   

            The Raceway’s live season continues Thursday through Saturday (all at 7:10 PM). Evening simulcasting accompanies all night programs, with afternoon simulcasting available daily.