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Sunday, June 26, 2016

GO DADDY GO GOES…SWIFTLY; MORGAN, HOLLAND TRIPLE

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

YONKERS, NY, Saturday, June 25, 2016—Yonkers Raceway had its version of Old Home Week Saturday night…

…provided “Old Home” was Chicago. All that was missing was deep-dish pizza and Oprah.

Tony Morgan—making his first Westchester appearance since September of 2012—and Brent Holland each had three wins during the dozen-race card.

            Morgan, he of the 15,400-plus career victories, earned a place in the local record books when pole-sitting Go Daddy Go ($13) won the $30,000 4-Year-Old Open Handicap Pace in a spiffy 1:50.1.

            The Ponder gelding, co-owned (as Allard Racing) by (trainer) Rene Allard and Bruce Soulsby, became the fourth member of the all-age-track-record club, joining Crombie A, Forty Five Red and Limelight Beach.

It was also the swiftest local mile of the season.

Morgan also won the co-featured $45,000 Open Pace with favored Doctor Butch ($5.30) in 1:51.2, and the $26,000, 11th race trot with a left-alone Major Athens ($4.10) in 1:53.3.

That effort matched the fastest Westchester trot mile of the season with E R Ellie.

Connecting the dots, “Ellie” (Larry Stalbaum, $14.40) won the co-featured $45,000 Open Handicap Trot from the pocket in 1:55.

As for Holland, he upset the apple cart with American Venture ($57) in the $18,000, second-race pace (1:52), then escorted Mah Sish N ($9) in the $18,000, third-race pace.


The Holland Hat Trick was completed with Moonliteonthebeach ($23.80) was a first-up winner in the $26,500 pacing finale (1:52.2).