Yonkers Trot elims head Grand Circuit Weekend

Harness Racing This Week: MGM Yonkers Trot and Park MGM Pace harness racing eliminations, Yonkers Raceway, Yonkers, N.Y.; Graduate Series and Miss Versatility legs, The Meadowlands, East Rutherford, N.J.; and Currier & Ives 3-year-old filly trot, Hollywood Casino at The Meadows, Washington, Pa.

Schedule of events: The Grand Circuit weekend kicks off on Friday (June 23) at Yonkers Raceway, with a pair of $40,000 eliminations in the MGM Yonkers Trot, the first leg of the Trotting Triple Crown for 3-year-olds, and a pair of $20,000 eliminations in the Park MGM Pace for 3-year-old pacing fillies.

The MGM Grand Messenger Stakes, the first leg of the Pacing Triple Crown for 3-year-olds, and the New York New York Mile, for 3-year-old filly trotters, didn’t require eliminations and will go straight to their respective finals on June 30.

Grand Circuit racing shifts to The Meadowlands on Saturday (June 24) for the third leg of the Graduate Series for 4-year-old pacers and trotters. There will be a pair of $50,000 divisions in the Open Pace and a single $75,000 division in the Open Trot. Also on the card will be the third leg of the Miss Versatility Series for older trotting mares, with a single $40,000 division set to go behind the gate,

Also on Saturday, The Meadows will host the $58,390 Currier & Ives for 3-year-old filly trotters.

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

Last Time: Showcasing one of the deepest fields in its storied history, the 40th edition of the C$1 million Pepsi North America Cup produced an instant classic on Saturday night (June 17) at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

The eventual star of the show, It’s My Show (Sweet Lou), used a combination of grit and gumption to get the job done in front of a loud and appreciative crowd.

Save America, with Yannick Gingras in the bike, crossed over from post nine to take an early lead as Scott Zeron, at the controls of It’s My Show, settled into second, followed by Cup elimination winners Christchurch and Fulton. ​After marching the field through a brisk opening panel in :25.4, Save America was overtaken by It’s My Show, who reached the half in :54.

Ahead by 1-1/4 lengths through three-quarters in 1:20.4, It’s My Show, also a Cup elimination victor the previous Saturday, looked to power away from the pack as a host of hopefuls soon set their sights on the pacesetter. Zeron called upon the son of Sweet Lou for his best as Fulton attempted to reel in the leader, while fellow elimination winner and slight choice on the tote board Confederate began to make headway to the far outside.

It’s My Show, trained by Linda Toscano, repelled the fast-closing Confederate by a head in a lifetime best 1:47.4 and, in the process, pushed his record to a perfect six-for-six in 2023. Fulton held third; Voukefalas was fourth.

Toscano, celebrating her first North America Cup crown, was ecstatic with the performance of her bay gelding, who went winless in eight starts as a 2-year-old.

“He’s an amazing horse,” started Toscano. “He disappointed me so much last year and at the end of the year, let’s castrate him. I can’t be this wrong about this horse and he’s come back, and he’s been nothing less than perfect. When you can win these kinds of races, this is what you do it for.”

Bred and owned by Richard and Joanne Young, It’s My Show is now 6-2-1 from 14 starts. It’s My Show, sent off as the third choice, paid $8.50 for the win.

Complete recaps of all the races are available at the Grand Circuit website. For a list of 2023 race winners on the Grand Circuit, click here.

Grand Circuit Standings: In 2023, 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 2023 Grand Circuit awards.

Here are the leaders (through the races on 6-17-23):

Drivers: 1. Dexter Dunn – 190; 2. Yannick Gingras – 171; 3. Scott Zeron – 169; 4. Jordan Stratton – 127; 5. Matt Kakaley – 110.

Trainers: 1. Linda Toscano – 155; 2. Ron Burke – 152; 3. Ake Svanstedt – 107; 4. Jeff Gillis – 102; 5. Jared Bako – 74.

Owners: 1. Mark Ford – 98; 2. Team Tritton Inc. – 52; 3. Jesmeral Stable – 47; 4. Diamond Creek Racing – 39.3; 5. Robert Di Nozzi – 39.

Looking ahead: Grand Circuit action will take place next week at Yonkers Raceway, The Meadowlands, Hoosier Park and Goshen Historic Track. Yonkers will have the MGM Yonkers Trot final for 3-year-old open trotters, the MGM Grand Messenger for 3-year-old open pacers, the Park MGM Pace final for 3-year-old fillies and the New York New York Mile for sophomore trotting fillies; The Meadowlands will feature four events for the older set, the Dave Brower Memorial for open pacers, the Crawford Farms for open trotters, the Perfect Sing for pacing mares and the Six Pack for trotting mares, plus Reynolds Memorial races for 3-year-old colt and filly trotters and Tompkins-Geers stakes for 2-year-olds of both sexes and gaits. Hoosier will host the Nadia Lobell for 3-year-old filly pacers. Goshen Historic Track will card eight Landmark Stakes events for 2- and 3-year-olds of both sexes and gaits.

by Paul Ramlow, for the Grand Circuit