BY FRANK DRUCKER,
Publicity Director, Empire City @ Yonkers Raceway
YONKERS,
NY, Saturday, September 17, 2016—A pair of three-holes produced a pair of
first-up Yonkers Raceway winners, as Always at My Place (George Brennan, $7.40)
and Melady’s Monet (Jason Bartlett, $5.70) annexed their respective $45,000
co-features.
Always
at My Place won the Open Handicap Pace, going up and over Feel the Need A (Eric
Goodell) down the backside, then widening to two lengths at the (1:50.2) wire.
Other
closers Melmerby Beach (Dan Dube), The Real One (Pat Lachance) and 13-10
favorite Bit of a Legend N (Jordan Stratton) were second, third and fourth,
respectively, while a shuffled P H Supercam (Jason Bartlett) settled for the
last loot.
Second
choice Always at My Place, a 5-year-old Always a Virgin gelding co-owned (as
Burke Racing) by (trainer) Ron Burke, Weaver Bruscemi, Larry Karr and Phil
Collura, it was his sixth win in 19 seasonal starts. The exacta paid
$65.50, with the triple returning $319.
Melady’s
Monet survived a protracted duel with Luminosity (Brennan), then held off Allerage
Star (Dube) to win the Open Handicap Trot by a neck in 1:54.2. Third went to E
R Ellie (Stratton), with Luminosity fourth and a never-firing, 3-2 choice
Obrigado (Mark MacDonald) placed fifth.
Crazshana
(Tyler Buter) did cross the line fifth, but was set down to seventh after just
about whacking the kneecaps of Centurion ATM (Steve Smith) in the lane.
‘Melady,’
a 7-year-old Revenue S gelding owned by Melady Enterprises and trained by Kevin
McDermott, is now 6-for-18 this season. The exacta paid $62.50, with the triple
returning $265.50.
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