Dragon Said soars to track record

Dragon Said became the fastest 4-year-old harness racing gelding pacer in Yonkers Raceway’s history by winning Tuesday night’s (June 29) tenth race in 1:49.4.

Driven by Joe Bongiorno in the $24,000 event for non-winners of eight races or $100,000 lifetime, Dragon Said landed in the pocket behind 1-5 favorite Splash Brother (Mark MacDonald), last year’s Empire Breeders Classic champion and New York Sire Stakes final runner-up, and tracked him intently through stations of 27, 55.1, and 1:22.3.

Bongiorno fired Dragon Said two-wide shortly after three-quarters, and he was able to get around Splash Brother before they turned for home. In the lane Dragon Said opened up, and he would hit the wire a length and three-quarters ahead of Splash Brother in the track record clocking.

DRAGON SAID REPLAY

The time of 1:49.4 chipped two-fifths of a second off the previous standard for a 4-year-old gelding pacer of 1:50.1 that belonged to Limelight Beach and Go Daddy Go. It was also just a fifth of a second off of Theartofconfusion A’s and American History’s all-age track record of 1:49.3.

This was Dragon Said’s seventh consecutive win since being purchased by owner Robert Devine and moved into the Jenn Bongiorno barn in February. The champion of this year’s M Life Rewards Gents Pacing Series final at Yonkers, Dragon Said, a son of Well Said, is now a ten-time winner in his career, and he has banked $108,932. Sent off at 5-2, he paid $7.30 to win and led a $5.10 exacta and an $11.90 trifecta.

One race before Dragon Said rewrote the track’s record book, 15-1 shot Black Chevron N upset in a 1:53 mile for driver Jason Bartlett, trainer Shane Tritton, and owner VIP Internet Stable LLC. He was uncovered in the evening’s Pick 5 sequence, resulting in a $4,404.84 carryover and a $15,000 guaranteed pool in Wednesday night’s (June 30) Pick 5 wager.

The guarantee in the Pick 5 is being offered as part of the United States Trotting Association’s Strategic Wagering Program. Free past performances for the Pick 5, courtesy of TrackMaster, are available here. The Pick 5, which begins in race five, has a takeout rate of 20 percent.
Wednesday night’s 12-race program at Yonkers kicks off at 7:15 p.m.

For full race results, click here.

From Yonkers Raceway