BRENNAN, PENA LEADING YONKERS 2011 DRIVER, TRAINER

BY FRANK DRUCKER, Publicity Director, Empire City @ Yonkers Raceway

YONKERS, NY, Tuesday, December 27, 2011 -- George Brennan and Lou Pena easily won their respective driver and trainer titles for Yonkers Raceway's recently-concluded 2011 season.

The racing calendar, which ended this past Friday night (Dec. 23), saw Brennan run away and hide with 697 local victories from 2,413 drives, winning with just under 29 percent of his escorts. Brennan, in his first full Westchester season, also rolled home with the money belt, ending with purses of $11,197,878.

The victory figure just about doubled-up three-time defending champ Jason Bartlett's 349 wins, with Bartlett also finishing second in purses ($6.6 million). Dan Dube (249 wins), Cat Manzi (193) and Brent Holland (179) rounded out the first flight among drivers, though Brian Sears gets honorable mention for 176 wins in 510 fewer drives than Holland at No. 5.

Pena successfully defended his training title, with 246 winners from 628 starters (39.2 percent). That total outdistanced Mark Ford (135 wins), though Ford--with 379 more starters--led in purses ($3,717,162 to $3,446,118).

Ron Burke (110 wins), Casie Coleman (92) and Chris Marino (84) rounded out the training quintet win category, respectively.

        

Yonkers' 2012 live season begins Friday night, Jan. 13. First post for all racing programs remains at 7:10 PM. Evening simulcasting accompanies all live programs, with afternoon simulcasting available around the NYRA schedule (note Aqueduct returns Wednesday).

MONTICELLO RACEWAY’S AU REVOIR DOESN’T FILL THIS YEAR

MONTICELLO, NY – It’s not like it was totally unexpected but Monticello Raceway’s Au Revoir,  the race exclusively for 14 year olds who will be forced into retirement on January 1, 2012,  failed to attract enough entries.

“It’s not unusual…we ran a stretch of 14 years after we had the inaugural  in 1991 before we filled then Au Revoir again,” noted Eric Warner the tracks director of racing . “ And it wasn’t because of a lack of trying it ‘s just that this year there aren’t many 14 year olds still currently racing.

“We’ve received emails and phone calls saying why don’t we include 12 and 13 year olds, too. And though that is not a bad idea, one can appreciate the specialty of getting together seven or eight 14 year olds for one final race. That it doesn’t happen every year makes the event even more special.”

Last year it was a like spring in the Southern Catskills of New York  on New Year’s Eve and 14 year old  Sinbad raced  more like a 3-year-old  when the altered son of Falcon Seelster sailed to an incredible 1:58:4 triumph for Jimmy Marohn, Jr.

And at the end of the 2009 season  another Au Revoir saw Satin Time  be victorious  in 1:59:3 for driver Greg Merton.

The first time Monticello Raceway attracted enough entries to present the Au Revoir after it’s inaugural event was at the end of the 2005 season. That year  Try Kacy N was victorious in 2:03:4  over a muddy race track for driver Jimmy Taggart, Jr.

However, during the 2004 campaign although the Mighty M didn’t draw a full field of 14 year old pacers it did offer a match race on the betting card between two grand old campaigner’s, $372,000  winner, Troy D and $412,000 winner, The Suleiman  N in which the latter, driven by Billy Parker, Jr., turned back the former, driven by Todd Frocione,  by a nose in a 2:02:4 clocking.

A race for  exclusively for 14 year olds near the end of the year is unique in that not only is it hard to find enough 14 year old standardbreds still competing in late December  but on January 1^st of the new year all harness horses turn one year older and when a horse is 15 years of age it can no longer compete in betting races.

“Though we are a little discouraged in not being able to fill the Au Revoir this year we’ll definitely try again next season,” Warner promised.

BLUE CREEK ANGIE SCORES HER 19TH SEASONAL VICTORY; TIED FOR THE LEAD IN WINS IN NORTH AMERICA

Blue Creek Angie has joined three others at the top of the North American leaderboard in races won this year when Bruce Aldrich, Jr. guided the 8 year old On The Attack mare to her 19^th seasonal triumph at Monticello Raceway on Monday, December 26. She stopped the timer at 1:58.2   although her seasonal best was a 1:55.4 clocking  in September.

Owner Jeanne Zukowski proudly poses with Bruce Aldrich Jr. after
 he reined Blue Creek Angie to her 19^th season victory (Geri Schwarz Photo)

Now this season-- which is quickly drawing to an end--  from 42 trips to post Blue Creek Angie  sports 19 wins; 1 seconds and four thirds and nearly $50,000 in purse money. Perhaps more remarkable is the fact that the pacing mare now has 72 career wins. She’s proudly owned by Jeanne Zukowski of Lake Peekskill, NY.

Blue Creek Angie en route to her 19^th victory of the year which ties her

 with 3 others on the North American leaderbboard (Geri Schwarz Photo)

Perhaps more amazingly than that is the fact that veteran reinsman  Bruce  Aldrich Jr. has been the regular driver of two of the four  horses with 19 wins this year.  His other mount, Edie’s Desire, owned by Peggy Olmstead of Monticello, NY, also has 19 wins this year.

Moreover,  Bruce Aldrich, Jr. , is putting the cap on another fine racing season. Besides his victory with Blue Creek Angie that afternoon the 43 year old driver won   two other races on the card and  now has a seasonal total of 415 wins. And after a year-long battle for driving supremacy with Billy “Zeke” Parker, Jr.,  Aldrich vaulted away from his nemesis in early December and now leads the bearded wonder by  28 victories. So now is the time to put a circle around Aldrich’s name as leading driver at Monticello Raceway during the 2011 racing season.

Aldrich is approaching a personal milestone of 4000 career driving victories and barring any unforeseen circumstances the Brattleboro, Vermont native will reach that total next year. Currently he has driven 3809 winners.

"I’m proud of what I have accomplished this year and beating my boyhood idol Billy Parker (Jr.) in races won here  was no easy task. Zeke can still drive with the best of them and his 10,600 winners can attest to that,” Aldrich said. “Horses from my barn raced real well for me this season and I was lucky enough to get  many live catch-drives which helped me keep pace with Zeke all year long.”

This will mark the second consecutive year that Aldrich has won the Mighty M driving title. Although he was the driver with the most wins  during the first decade of the 21^st century here at Monticello Raceway he had only won one leading driver  title over that period.