Yonker’s Saturday night $40,000 features

YONKERS, NY, Saturday, October 17, 2015 — Odds-on Luminosity (George Brennan, $2.80) and Mach's Beach Boy (Pat Lachance, $21.20) shared the Saturday night glory, winning Yonkers Raceway's pair of harness racing $40,000 Open Handicaps.

Luminosity, starting from post position No. 6 (in one notch after a scratch) in the marquee trot, took away any suspense early, He easily worked around Cashontherocs (Jason Bartlett), then completed the requisite route (:27.3, :57.2, 1:26, 1:55.2).

The final margin was 2½ lengths over a from-last Zooming (Tyler Buter), who skimmed the cones. Cashonontherocs was third with a two-move Natural Herbie (Verlin Yoder) and Uva Hanover (Jordan Stratton) also earning pay envelopes.

For Luminosity, a 5-year-old Cash Hall gelding co-owned (as Burke Racing) by (trainer) Ron Burke and Weaver Bruscemi, it was his 13th win in 30 seasonal starts (five wins in last seven tries). The exacta paid $11.40, with the triple returning $46.60.

The weekly featured pace saw an early scrum between Moonliteonthebeach (Bartlett), E Z Noah (Mark MacDonald) and a parked-out Great Vintage (Dan Dube). That led to brisk numbers (:26.1, :54.3) on a brisk night, which was not the way to do business.

As Great Vintage was retreating toward a 1:23.1 three-quarters, Mach's Beach Boy–three-hole from post No. 4–left the cones. The move may have pushed 11-10 choice Take it Back Terry (Brennan) wide as E Z Noah was about done on the lead.

Mach's Beach Boy owned a length advantage into the lane, then whipped by a length-and-a-quarter in 1:51.4. Dream Out Loud N (Buter), Moonliteonthebeach and Sapphire City (Stratton) rounded out the payees.

For fifth choice Mach's Beach Boy, a 6-year-old Mach Three gelding trained for his driver for Ontario co-owners Dan Mogridge and Jeffrey Oborne, it was his 10th win in 33 '15 tries. The exacta paid $81.50, the triple returning $289 and the superfecta paid $995.

Props to Lachance, who drove four winners (mutuels of $24, $3.50, $21.20 and $133.50) during the dozen-race card.

Note that since no one took down Saturday night's Pick 5 (due in large part to Lachance), Monday's gimmick begins with a carryover of $5,249.99 ($10,000 guaranteed pool, 50-cent-base wager, program pages available at www.yonkersraceway.com).

Frank Drucker