BY
FRANK DRUCKER, Publicity Director, Empire City @ Yonkers Raceway
YONKERS, NY, Tuesday, December 15,
2015—Jason Bartlett and Rene Allard were Westchester’s big cheeses, winning
Yonkers Raceway’s 2015 driver and trainer titles, respectively.
The 230-program season (eight
postponements due to weather), which concluded this past Sunday (Dec. 13), saw
Bartlett roll along to a fifth Yonkers title. The 34-year-old, originally from
Augusta, ME, easily outdistanced George Brennan, 466 wins to 377. Bartlett was
also the busiest of the colony, leasing with 2,405 drivers (19.4 percent
winning percentage) and more than $8.8 million in purses.
Brian Sears (345 wins), Dan Dube (320) and
Tyler Buter (234) rounded out the top five in victories.
Allard, a 28-year-old native of Quebec, won a hard-fought battle with two-time
defending champ Ron Burke, taking the trainer title, 181 wins (26.2 percent
winning percentage) to 173. Burke did lead in starters (815) and purses ($4.8
million), a solid $1.7 million more than Allard.
Numbers three-through-five were Richard Banca (160 wins), Jeffrey Bamond Jr.
(108) and Gilberto Garcia-Herrera (91).
The Raceway’s
2016 season (with accompanying schedule) is set to begin Thursday, Jan. 7,
pending approval of the New York State Gaming Commission.
