BY
FRANK DRUCKER, Publicity Director, Empire City @ Yonkers Raceway
YONKERS, NY, Sunday, January 7,
2018—Today’s tome is entitled ‘Passing Thoughts About No Passing Lane.’
Yonkers Raceway began its 2018 season
Sunday (Jan. 7th) by closing down the open stretch. A nippy,
see-their-breath, late-morning pacing opener served as the guinea pig for the
new layout.
Precursor to the seven ‘French’ trots, it
was a tight-photo win by a first-up Union Man Hanover (Matt Kakaley, $14.20) in
1:57.3.
Thus, Kakaley became the perfect initial
candidate to discuss the new layout.
“I probably would have waited a bit longer
(moving from third) with the passing lane,” he said. “I wanted to make sure I
was out there. I think first-over is going to going to be more advantageous
now, but it was just one race.”
Kakaley ended up with four winners during
the 12-race card.
One obvious observation was the
pocket-sitting Scarlet Chaser (Jordan Stratton) extricating himself from the
cones, slipping out to race second-over early in the final turn.
“(Scarlet Chaser) won in the passing lane
his last start, but that wasn’t an option here,” Stratton said. “I was able to
move him outside and he raced well. The new rules are in place, and we’ll
figure it out.
“It is what it is.”
“There are going to be some strategy changes, that’s for sure,” Brent Holland
said.
“Sitting the two-hole may not always be a
good spot,” he said after getting shuffled out when the leader tired in day’s
trotting feature. “It didn’t work out for me.”
The last word for the first day went to
six-time local driving champ Jason Bartlett.
“It certainly makes things different,”
Bartlett said. “It’s hard to say how much, because you have to see how each
race unfolds. We just have to try to put the horse in the best position.”
