BY FRANK DRUCKER,
Publicity Director, Empire City @ Yonkers Raceway
YONKERS,
NY, Saturday, November 19, 2016—The Real One (Pat Lachance, $8.70)
Etch-a-Sketched his name into Yonkers Raceway’s annals, setting an all-age
track record in winning Saturday night’s $45,000 Open Handicap Pace.
Sitting
chilly from post position No. 4, The Real One watched a pole-sitter Melmerby
Beach (Tyler Buter) took no prisoners, as in early fractions of :26.4 and :55.1.
Rank outsider Santa Fe Beachboy (Brent Holland)
was pocketed and slight 2-1 choice First Class Horse (Jason Bartlett) moved from
third. That one went up and over a non-resistant ‘Melmerby’ right after the
1:22.1 three-quarters.
The Real One was perched behind that move as
First Class Horse opened a length-and-a-quarter lead into the lane. The stalker
ducked in and whipped his tow by a neck in 1:50 flat, a tick faster than the
previous Westchester standard.
That mile unceremoniously knocked a
quintet—Crombie A, Forty Five Red, Limelight Beach, Go Daddy Go and
Americanprimetime—out of the record books.
Bit of a Legend N (Jordan Stratton) wound up a
best-of-the-rest third—beaten 4¼ lengths—with Take it Back Terry (George
Brennan) and Santa Fe Beachboy rounding out the payees
For third choice The Real One, a 6-year-old Mach
Three trained by his driver for owner Helene Filion, it was his eighth win in
30 seasonal starts (career earnings past $700,000). The exacta paid $62, the
triple returned $215 and the superfecta paid $706.
“That’s his trip,” Lachance said. “He chases
other horses. Melmerby Beach did all the dirty work and we showed up at the
end.”
Stratton’s two-win night moved him within one of
3,000 career victories.
No one took down Saturday night’s Pick 5 wager,
so Sunday morning’s gimmick (first post 11:30 AM) begins with a carryover of
$2,043.93 (50-cent base wager, races 6 through 10).
