BY
FRANK DRUCKER, Publicity Director, Empire City @ Yonkers Raceway
YONKERS, NY, Wednesday, March 16,
2016—Apparently, all that was missing from Yonkers Raceway’s “French-centric”
trots were the French.
That small detail gets rectified Sunday
afternoon (March 20), with the inaugural Drivers’ Cup.
Five of Yonkers’ leading drivers battle
five of France’s finest in a four-race, transatlantic competition. It begins
with races 2 and 4 here, with those events included among the seven races
simulcast to the French-hubbed audience.
The Cup then concludes with two races at
Vincennes (Paris), one each Friday, June 24, and Sunday, June
26.
It was blind dates all around, as all
trotter/driver pairings were done completely at random. Yonkers is represented
by Jason Bartlett (captain), Tyler Buter, Dan Dube, Pat Lachance and Jordan
Stratton. France’s roster includes Pierre Vercruysse (captain), Matthieu
Abrivard, Nicolas Ensch, Pierre Levesque and Franck Ouvrie.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Buter said.
“It’s an honor to be part of Yonkers’ team and I hope things work out well for
us.”
Monsieur Lachance, on the other hand, was
a bit more matter-of-fact. Asked if he had any advice for the visitors. “No,”
Lachance said. “I want to win.”
A promotional ad for this event, along
with program pages for Sunday’s two Drivers’ Cup races accompany this release.
First post Sunday is 1:10 PM, with the
first seven races going at half-hour intervals.
