BY
FRANK DRUCKER, Publicity Director, Empire City @ Yonkers Raceway
YONKERS, NY, Sunday, November 25,
2018—Yonkers Raceway’s Sunday (Nov. 25th) matinee saw an
anxiously-pocketed Andy Ray (Jason Bartlett, $7.60) winning the featured
$44,000 Open Handicap.
The Sunday feature went at the flat mile,
one race after the seven added-distance ‘French’ trots.
The field of seven was effectively
downsized to four as three of the gang—The Last Chapter (Matt Kakaley), Crazy
About Pat (Jim Marohn Jr.) and Gruden (Dan Dube)—did the dance of the damned.
Meanwhile, Andy Ray—from post position No.
5—worked around 1-2 choice Lean Hanover (Jordan Stratton) for the lead before a
:28.1 opening quarter-mile.
He then gave it up to DW’s NY Yank (George
Brennan), with that one finding a :57.4 intermission. However, ‘Andy’ was
getting’ itchy and gettin‘ out before a 1:26.3 three-quarters.
Andy Ray disposed of DW’s NY Yank,
but Lean Hanover was poised right behind. The people’s preference proved
no match, though, as Andy Ray finished it off by three-quarters of a length in
1:55.3. A tiring DW’s NY Yank was third, dividing the smaller envelope with a
trotting-in-place Lazarus (Brent Holland) and The Last Chapter.
For second
choice Andy Ray, a 6-year-old Crazed gelding owned by Yinson Quezada and
trained by Anette Lorentzon, it was his sixth win in 27 seasonal starts. The
exacta paid $16.40, the triple returned $58.50 and the superfecta paid $251.50.
Sunday’s
incarnation of the ‘New York, New York Double’ featured a winning combination
of 5-Tequila Sunday (Aqueduct’s 1st race) and 1-Quick Summer
(Yonkers’ 5th race), returning $23.70 for every correct $1 ticket.
Total pool was $3,416.
The next
Sunday matinee is Dec. 2nd (post time TBA).
