Tioga welcomes a leg of the Kindergarten Classic on Friday.

Tioga Downs plays host to a leg of the Kindergarten Classic on Friday (September 13).  They will feature freshmen pacers and trotters in four non-betting races.  Each will race for a purse of $10,000.

The first of the Kindergarten races features 2-year-old pacing colts and geldings.  Trainer Tony Alagna will send two time winner Ideal Perception (Matt Kakaley) as well as Captain Barbosa (Andrew McCarthy) to the starting gate.  Ideal Perception (American Ideal-Southwind Siren) has won two New York Excelsior A series races in his six lifetime starts.  Captain Barbossa is a colt by Captaintreacherous-Swinging Beauty.  He has won over $45,000 in his career with four seconds and a third in eight career starts.

The second Kindergarten race is for freshmen trotting colts and geldings.  The John Butenschoen trained Swipe Right (Mike Simons) has won two races in seven starts in 2019.  He is a colt by Explosive Matter-Online Exclusive.  Overised (Matt Kakaley) is the other two time winner in the field.  Trained by George Ducharme, he is a colt by Explosive Matter-Afterimage.  He is going for his third straight victory.

The third Kindergarten race features 2-year-old trotting fillies.  Winter Olympics (Wally Hennessey) looks to be the horse to beat.  The filly by Muscle Mass-Olympic Dreams won a leg of the Ontario Sire Stakes at Woodbine Mohawk Park on August 9th.  Trained by Ake Svanstedt, she also has a second place finish in just three lifetime starts.  Her lifetime earnings are over $35,000. 

The last of four Kindergarten races features freshmen pacing fillies.  The three horse field includes the Nancy Johansson trained Love For Sail (Captaintreacherous-West Side Glory) and JK Finendandy (American Ideal-JK Fine).  Love For Sail (Andrew McCarthy) has a win, a second, and a third in four lifetime starts.  JL Finendandy (Matt Kakaley) has two seconds in four career starts.  They will take on the R. Nifty Norman trained Anthem (David Miller).  The filly by Sweet Lou-Monkeys Can Sing has a win, two seconds, and a third in just six starts.

tThe four non-betting races will be mixed in with the 13 pari-mutuel races on Friday.  The Kindergarten 2 year old colt pace will take place in between pari-mutuel races one and two.  The Kindergarten colt trot will be between pari-mutuel races two and three.  The Kindergarten filly trot will run in between pari-mutuel races three and four.  The Kindergarten filly pace will take place between pari-mutuel races four and five.  Post time for this exciting card is 6:15 p.m.

For more information go to www.tiogadowns.com.

“TINY TIM” MILLER COPS BILLINGS TROT AT NORTHFIELD

by john manzi for the Billings Series

Northfield, Ohio—As what often happens when several horses charge for the lead when the gate springs on a double oval undoubtedly there will be some who never see the pylons. And although that scenario occurred tonight in a Billings Trot at Northfield Park, “Tiny Tim” Miller and Dominus Hanover overcame the overland route and rallied to a 1:58.3 victory despite being parked the entire mile.

Perhaps it was because Miller never rushed his charge away from the gate and was content to keep Dominus Hanover near the back of the pack as William “Dusty” Rhoades cut swift fractions of :28.3-:57.4 and 1:28 with Romeo and led the competition all the way to the top of the stretch.

While Rhoades was showing the way up front Miller was back in seventh position getting cover from United Bi (Alesha “the Lethal Lady” Binkley). As the field neared the three quarters Miller sent Dominus Hanover around United Bi and took aim at the leader (Romeo). Picking up horses on the way Miller unleashed his charge and rallied to a three-quarter length victory over Better Call Saul (“Chicago George” Bonomo) who had enjoyed a covered journey from the half. Romeo held on for the show dough.

Dominus Hanover, a 6-year-old Muscle Massive gelding owned by his driver, paid $6.20. For Miller, it was his first seasonal driving victory and 46^th of his amateur career.

EYE OFA TIGER AS, THEARTOFCONFUSION A WIN SATURDAY NIGHT 46G CO-FEATURES

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

YONKERS, NY, Saturday, September 7, 2019—Favorites Eye ofa Tiger AS (Jason Bartlett, $3.90) and Theartofconfusion A (Austin Siegelman, $4.60) both prevailed Saturday night (Sept. 7^th), winning Yonkers Raceway’s $46,000 co-featured Open Handicaps.

Eye ofa Tiger AS, assigned outside his seven rivals in the week’s marquee trot, made the first lead. He then played leapfrog with Dayson (George Brennan)  by a :28.1 opening quarter-mile. Eye ofa Tiger AS found a comfy :57.3 intermission and was moving toward a 1:26.1 three-quarters when Dayson jumped it off in the pocket, leaving the course.

Eye ofa Tiger AS owned a length lead into the lane before holding off a ground-saving There’sademoninme (Eric Goodell) by three-quarters of a length in 1:55.1. New Heaven (Jim Marohn Jr.), Barry Black (Troy Beyer) and Fashion Creditor (Siegelman) settled for the minors.   

For Eye ofa Tiger AS, a 5-year-old statebred Chapter Seven gelding co-owned by ACL Stuteri AB & Kjell Johansson and trained by Anette Lorentzon, it was ninth win in 24 seasonal starts The exacta paid $17.40, the triple returned $57 and the superfecta paid $347.50.

The weekly adult pace saw Theartofconfusion A, just removed from his all-age track record, dispose of five foes. From post position No. 4, he led through intervals of :28.2, :56.4, 1:23.4 and 1:51. Pole-assigned Benhope Rulz N (Shaun Vallee) completed a two-speed number at 47-1, with The Real One (Pat Lachance), San Domino  A (Bartlett) and I’m Some Graduate (Brennan) picking off the remainder.

Micky Gee N (Stratton) did not fire.

For Theartofconfusion A, a 9-year-old Down Under Riverboat King gelding co-owned by (trainer) Gilberto Garcia-Herrera and Barbara & Donald Arnstine, it was his seventh win in 25 ’19 tries. The exacta paid $61, the triple returned $165 and the superfecta paid $554.