NAADA Spring Final to Tony Verruso

Yonkers, NY— Harness racing amateur driver Tony Verruso sent Exarch to the lead when the gate folded and then proceeded to make every pole a winning one en route to a 1:57.2 triumph in the $15,000 Final of the North American Amateur Drivers Association Spring Series tonight at Yonkers Raceway.

“I knew we were the horse to beat and since Exarch doesn’t like to pass horses the front end is the place for him,”Verruso acknowledged. “And getting to the front with him is easy since he has real good gate speed. All I have to do is chirp at him and he’s gone.”

After starting from the two-hole Exarch cruised to a :28 second quarter and when he passed the half in :58 he had two lengths on his competition. Exarch was still in command when he passed the third stanza but he had Manhattan Blue Chip (Joe Lee) on his throat latch.

When they rounded the final turn and turned for home the two were joined by Dark Poole (John Calabrese) and the three battled down the stretch all the way to the wire and although it was close Exarch emerged victorious by a head over Manhattan Blue Chip. Dark Poole was a head farther back in third and all three were timed in 1:57.2.

EXARCH REPLAY

The winner, a 6-year-old Cantab Hall gelding, is owned by Fortune Valley Stable and trained by John Gerow and Gerow said he is donating his trainer’s percentage from the $15000 race to the Standardbred Transition Alliance.

For full race results, click here.

by John Manzi, for NAADA