BY
FRANK DRUCKER, Publicity Director, Empire City @ Yonkers Raceway
YONKERS, NY, Sunday, December 17,
2017—Yonkers Raceway concluded its 2017 season Sunday (Dec. 17th),
with Melady’s Monet (Jason Bartlett, $16.60) winning a certifiably-strange
$40,000 Open Handicap Trot.
The happy half-dozen went as the
late-morning opener, which may have proven a bit too early for the two
favorites. It was Gural Hanover (George Brennan), as the 4-5 choice, breaking
in the first turn, Meanwhile, 9-5 second choice Smalltownthrowdown (Yannick
Gingras), after assuming a quick open-length lead, jumped it off down the
backside.
That left B Yoyo (Joe Bongiorno) as the
default leader, with Tight Lines (Jeff Gregory) pocketed and slow-starting
polester Muscles on Fire (Brent Holland) third. After early intervals of :29.1
of :59.2, Melady’s Monet took out of fifth.
That one, who had disappointed as the
people’s preference the past two starts, advanced toward the leader at the
1:28.1 three-quarters.
Melady’s Monet took over early in the
lane, getting just enough of a ‘running start’ before Tight Lines found the
passing lane. The latter beat the former by a neck in 1:56.4. Gural Hanover,
recovering to race second-over, wound up third, with B Yoyo and Muscles
on Fire settling for the minors.
For third
choice Melady’s Monet, an 8-year-old Revenue S gelding owned by Melady
Enterprises and trained by Kevin McDermott, it was his seventh win in 17
seasonal starts. The exacta paid $109, with the triple returning $388.50.
Sunday’s ‘New
York, New York Double’ saw a combination of 5-Storm Prophet (Aqueduct’s 3rd
race) and 4-Cash Me Out (Yonkers’ 6th race), the pair of favorites
returning $8.30 for every correct dollar ticket. Total pool was $5,709.
The mandatory
Pick 5 payout took in the last five races of the 11-race card, with a winning
combination of 2/6/8/3/5 paying $337.75 for the requisite 50-cent wager. Total
pool was $3,855.
The Raceway’s
2018 season is scheduled to begin Sunday, Jan. 7th, the way it
ended, with a ‘French’ matinee. Post time is TBA, with all ’18 dates pending
approval of the New York State Gaming Commission.
