Obrigado accepts invite to $1m International Trot

YONKERS, NY, Wednesday, October 5, 2016 – – Harness racing millionaire Obrigado has accepted an invitation to the compete in Yonkers Raceway's $1 million Yonkers International Trot, scheduled for Saturday afternoon, Oct. 15th.

Obrigado replaces Italy's Ringostarr Treb, who had to bow out with some blood issues and did not make the trip stateside.

Obrigado, a 6-year-old Boy Band gelding, has been the best thing to come out of Maine since bottled water, sporting career earnings of $1,362,019.

Co-owned by (trainer) Paul Kelley, Linwood Higgins SRF Stable and Stable 45, Obrigado has won six of his 14 seasonal starts ($614,320). He comes off a win in the $160,000 Dayton Trotting Derby this past Friday (1:53.2).

Obrigado owns a 1:51.2 life-mark, taken this past August in winning the $193,000 Crawford at Vernon Downs. Mark MacDonald has the driving assignment.

Earlier Wednesday, the six Europeans in the Trot field touched down at John F. Kennedy International Airport in their flight from Belgium. The six-pack included BBS Sugarlight (Norway), Explosive de Vie (Sweden), Jonesy (Finland), Oasis Bi (Italy), On Track Piraten (Sweden) and Tano Bork (Denmark).

A separate story about that arrival shall be sent later today.

Obrigado is the third American rep., joining Resolve and the mare Hannelore Hanover. Canada's Flanagan Memory rounds out the world-class field of 10.

Frank Drucker