Rich Grand Circuit finals Monday at Yonkers

Harness Racing This Week: Blue Chip Matchmaker and MGM Borgata Pacing series finals and consolations, Yonkers Raceway, Yonkers, N.Y. This is the opening event of the 2022 Grand Circuit season.

Schedule of events: The Grand Circuit at Yonkers on Monday (April 25) features the $549,000 MGM Borgata final, a $100,000 consolation and a $50,000 race for horses that were eligible to the series for open pacers and the $381,000 Blue Chip Matchmaker final and $75,000 consolation for open pacing mares.

Complete entries for the races can be found by clicking on this link.

Last Time: The 2022 MGM Borgata Pacing Series preliminaries started with favorites going five-for-five in leg one and ended with the chalk registering a three-for-three mark in Monday’s (April 18) trio of $50,000 divisions of the final round at Yonkers Raceway.

Leonidas A (Austin Siegelman) heads into next Monday’s (April 25) $549,000 final as the horse to beat thanks to a 1:51 tally in the opening split, giving him four wins in the four legs he competed in.

Siegelman got away in the pocket with Leonidas A and watched as Dragon Said (Joe Bongiorno) parked out Semi Tough (Yannick Gingras) through fast fractions of :25.4, :53.4 and 1:22.1. Dean B Hanover (Jordan Stratton) made a three-wide move from second-over going to three-quarters, but as Semi Tough began to fade, Siegelman was able to squeeze out two-wide with Leonidas A before Dean B Hanover could get over and lock him in.

Dragon Said, Leonidas A, and Dean B Hanover battled across the track around the last turn, but at the top of the stretch, Leonidas A shook away from his rivals and went on to defeat Dean B Hanover by 1-1/2 lengths. Im Sir Blake A (Marcus Miller) was third, followed by Chase H Hanover (Matt Kakaley) and Western Joe (Dexter Dunn).

The victorious 7-year-old gelding by Mach Three is trained by Sheena Cohen for owner Jesmeral Stable. Leonidas A made his 40th appearance in the winner’s circle, and he has now pocketed $624,187.

Racine Bell stamped herself as the one to beat in the $381,000 Blue Chip Matchmaker Series final on April 25 with a powerful performance, capturing the second of three $40,000 divisions at Yonkers Raceway on Friday night (April 15) in 1:51.2.

Sent off as the 1-10 favorite from the pole position, Racine Bell saw McMarkle Sparkle and Andy Miller leave boldly to take control into the first turn. Lit De Rose and Pat Lachance also pressed forward in the early stages and were parked nearly to the quarter for the front. Jason Bartlett had Racine Bell on the move before the quarter, and the 5-year-old by So Surreal crossed to command just after the :26.4 opening fraction, then never looked back.

Racine Bell cruised to the half in :56.1, and then Bartlett let the talented mare shift gears going around the third turn. A :27.1 third quarter kept a first-over Blue Ivy and Tyler Buter well at bay as the outer tier struggled to keep pace. Racine Bell separated from the field on the final turn, and Bartlett urged her confidently in the :28 sprint to the wire. McMarkle Sparkle rallied for the place spot, with Lit De Rose settling for third.

Now a winner in three of the four legs she competed in, Racine Bell returned $2.20 to win. Owned by Chris and Dale Lawton, Racine Bell won for the 25th time in her career for trainer David Dewhurst.

Complete recaps of all the races are available at the Grand Circuit website.

Grand Circuit Standings: In 2022, the Grand Circuit leaders in three categories (driver, trainer and owner) will once again be tracked on a points system (20-10-5 for the top three finishers in divisions/finals and 10-5-2 for the top three finishers in eliminations/legs). Winbak Farms is the sponsor for the 2022 Grand Circuit awards.

Here are the leaders (through the races on 4-18-22):

Drivers: 1. Jordan Stratton – 99; 2. Jason Bartlett – 84; 3. Dexter Dunn – 83; 4. Yannick Gingras – 65; 5. George Brennan – 60.

Trainers: 1. Ron Burke – 106; 2. Cory Stratton – 45; 3. Erv Miller – 43; 4. Sheena Cohen – 40; 5. Jen Bongiorno – 37.

Owners: 1. Jesmeral Stable – 40; 2. The OK Corral – 37; 3. Team Tritton Inc. – 30; 4. Karen Hauver – 27; 5. Mystical Marker Farms – 22.

Looking ahead: Grand Circuit action next week will also be held at Plainridge Park with the $100,000 Paul Revere Pace for 3-year-old pacers on Thursday (April 28), while on Saturday (April 30), Freehold Raceway will host $40,000 (est.) eliminations in the Dexter Cup for 3-year-old open trotters.

by Paul Ramlow, for the Grand Circuit