BY
FRANK DRUCKER, Publicity Director, Empire City @ Yonkers Raceway
YONKERS, NY, Wednesday, December 20, 2017—The B’s
had it in Westchester 2017, with Jason
Bartlett and Richard Banca winning Yonkers Raceway’s driver and trainer titles,
respectively.
The
235-program season (three postponements), which concluded this past Sunday
(Dec. 17th), saw Bartlett roll along to a seventh local title.
The
36-year-old Bartlett, originally from Augusta, ME, was both the winningest
(542) and busiest (2,635) driver, winning at a 22.9 a percent clip. His $10.4
million in purses also led the list.
Jordan
Stratton ascended to second with 378 wins and $8.3 million in purses, with the
top five win list completed by George Brennan (327), Brent Holland (214) and
Dan Dube (182).
Banca, a
42-year-old native of Paterson, NJ, sent out 187 winners, 36 more last season’s
leading trainer, Rene Allard. Banca also led with 986 starters (19 percent
winning percentage) and purses ($4.01 million). Scott DiDomenico (117 wins),
Ron Burke (109) and Gilberto Garcia-Herrera (87) completed the first quintet among
wins.
The
Raceway’s 2018 season is set to begin with a Sunday (Jan. 7th)
matinee (post time TBA). A complete schedule accompanies this release, with all
dates pending approval of the New York State Gaming Commission.
