New York Night of Champions draw held

The best 2- and 3-year-old harness racing trotters and pacers in the Empire State will converge on Yonkers Raceway on Friday night (September 10) for New York Night of Champions. The 10-race program features eight $200,000 New York Sire Stakes finals in races two through nine.

Two-year-old trotting fillies kick off the action in race two, with their final sponsored by the Agriculture & NYS Horse Breeding Development Fund. Joviality S (Brian Sears listed for trainer Marcus Melander) was undefeated in the sire stakes program this year but will have to overcome post position eight to take home the crown. Bomb Hugger (post six, Anthony MacDonald/Melissa Beckwith) started three-for-three in the sire stakes but will need to rebound after making a break at Yonkers on August 19.

The undefeated Chapter Seven colt Justice (Ake Svanstedt trains/drives) landed post four in race three’s 2-year-old colt and gelding trot final, sponsored by Winbak Farm. Justice will renew acquaintances with Cool Papa Bell (post five, Jason Bartlett/Jim Campbell) after just a head separated those two at Saratoga on August 23.

Next up are the 2-year-old colt and gelding pacers, and their final is sponsored by the Agriculture & NYS Horse Breeding Development Fund. Pleaseletmeknow (post two, Matt Kakaley/Travis Alexander) won the MGM Springfield Stakes at Yonkers earlier this year, but he faces a strong group that includes Stretch The Line (post three, Jordan Stratton/Erv Miller), Forrest Blu (post six, Tyler Buter/John Butenschoen), and Pickup Man Hanover (post seven, Billy Dobson/Monica Krist).

A talented group of rookie pacing fillies will then take to the track in their final, which is again sponsored by the Agriculture & NYS Horse Breeding Development Fund. Joyride Hanover (post two, Tim Tetrick/Eddie Dennis), Gotthegreenlight (post three, Dexter Dunn/Nifty Norman), and Just Divine (post four, Yannick Gingras/Ron Burke) haven’t missed the board in their respective careers so far, and all drew well for this event.

The focus then shifts to the sophomores, with the trotting fillies first up in their final, sponsored by Allerage Farms. Iteration won the New York Sire Stakes final for this group last year, and she is back to defend her title from post six for Brian Sears and Marcus Melander. Moni For Lindy (post one, Yannick Gingras/Domenico Cecere), a five-time winner this year, and Splash Blue Chip (post three, Ake Svanstedt trains/drives) both drew inside Iteration.

Test Of Faith (post five, David Miller/Brett Pelling) is the main attraction in race seven’s 3-year-old filly pace final, sponsored by Cameo Hills Farm. A sire stakes champion a year ago, the daughter of Art Major has come back this year to win twice in the program. She also took the Empire Breeders Classic and the Park MGM Pace here at Yonkers.

Ahundreddollarbill (post six, Andrew McCarthy/Tony Alagna), a 3-year-old gelding by Chapter Seven, has broken track records throughout New York State this year, including at Yonkers in both his MGM Yonkers Trot elim and in a later sire stakes appearance, and he’s the headliner in race eight’s final, sponsored by Crawford Farms. Ambassador Hanover (post four, Ake Svanstedt trains/drives), who was second in the MGM Yonkers Trot and third in the Hambletonian, will look to knock him off.

New York Night of Champions concludes with the final for 3-year-old colt and gelding pacers, sponsored by Blue Chip Farms. The defending champion for this group is King James Express, and that Art Major gelding has post five for Jason Bartlett and Mark Harder. Town Gossip (post four, Joe Bongiorno/Jenn Bongiorno) comes into the final having won four of his last six starts.

First race post time on Friday night at Yonkers is 7:15 p.m.

The full draws for the finals are as follows:

Ag. & NYS Horse Breeding Development Fund 2YO Filly Trot

1-Gertrude — by Devious Man

2-Valentina Blu — by Chapter Seven

3-Seven On The Rocks — by Chapter Seven

4-Little Pink Lies — by Chapter Seven

5-Gettinmystepsin — by Chapter Seven

6-Bomb Hugger — by Chapter Seven

7-Cash Infusion — by Chapter Seven

8-Joviality S — by Chapter Seven

AE1-Cranberry Lake — by Devious Man

AE2-She’s A Scorcher — by Chapter Seven

Winbak Farm 2YO C&G Trot

1-Grand Spa — by E L Titan

2-Molotov Cocktail — by Chapter Seven

3-Quincy Market — by E L Titan

4-Justice — by Chapter Seven

5-Cool Papa Bell — by Chapter Seven

6-Chapheart — by Chapter Seven

7-Secret Rule — by Chapter Seven

8-Velvet Style — by Credit Winner

AE1-T Rex Blue Chip — by Chapter Seven

AE2-Valentine Express — by Chapter Seven

Ag. & NYS Horse Breeding Development Fund 2YO C&G Pace

1-Flip My Chip — by Heston Blue Chip

2-Pleaseletmeknow — by American Ideal

3-Stretch The Line — by Huntsville

4-Hurrikane Chuck — by Huntsville

5-JD — by So Surreal

6-Forrest Blu — by Roll With Joe

7-Pickup Man Hanover — by Huntsville

8-Greg The Leg — by Huntsville

AE1-Bounty Hunter — by Huntsville

AE2-Seven Hundred — by Huntsville

Ag. & NYS Horse Breeding Development Fund 2YO Filly Pace

1-Hamptons Babe — by American Ideal

2-Joyride Hanover — by American Ideal

3-Gotthegreenlight — by American Ideal

4-Just Divine — by Huntsville

5-Kele Kele — by So Surreal

6-A Girl That Twirls — by American Ideal

7-Reenactment — by Huntsville

8-Twenty Grand — by Huntsville

AE1-Throw The Dice — by American Ideal

AE2-American Ticket — by American Ideal

Allerage Farm 3YO Filly Trot

1-Moni For Lindy — by Credit Winner

2-Illuminata — by Chapter Seven

3-Splash Blue Chip — by E L Titan

4-Contested Hanover — by Chapter Seven

5-Titans Hope — by E L Titan

6-Iteration — by Chapter Seven

7-Sweeping Rainbow — by Chapter Seven

8-Soukup Blue Chip — by Chapter Seven

AE1-Aela Jamieson — by Chapter Seven

AE2-Tranquility K — by Deweycheatumnhowe

Cameo Hills 3YO Filly Pace

1-Tava — by American Ideal

2-Rightfully Mine — by American Ideal

3-Delightful Z Tam — by American Ideal

4-Summer Rae — by Roll With Joe

5-Test Of Faith — by Art Major

6-Heart Of Mine — by Roll With Joe

7-Think Of Galaxies — by So Surreal

8-Purameri — by American Ideal

AE1-Easy To Please — by Roll With Joe

AE2-Party Queen — by Roll With Joe

Crawford Farms 3YO C&G Trot

1-Credit Con — by Credit Winner

2-Sevenshadesofgrey — by Chapter Seven

3-Dewey Arnold — by Deweycheatumnhowe

4-Ambassador Hanover — by Chapter Seven

5-Dee’s Red Delicous — by Credit Winner

6-Ahundreddollarbill — by Chapter Seven

7-Balenciaga — by Chapter Seven

8-Seven Nation Army — by Chapter Seven

AE1-Seventier — by Chapter Seven

AE2-Latin Lover — by E L Titan

Blue Chip Farms 3YO C&G Pace

1-Southwind Petyr — by American Ideal

2-I’ll Drink To That — by American Ideal

3-Stop Staring — by So Surreal

4-Town Gossip — by American Ideal

5-King James Express — by Art Major

6-Natameri — by American Ideal

7-Mullinax — by American Ideal

8-Major Bean — by Art Major

AE1-Bottle Rocket — by Rock N Roll Heaven

AE2-Hidden Assassin — by Art Major