Three $50,000 harness racing divisions of the final preliminary round of the MGM Borgata Pacing Series will go behind the gate on Monday night (April 15) at MGM Yonkers Raceway.
Fresh off a win last night (April 8), Pleaseletmeknow (post five) is among the entrants in the first split (race two). Rocknroll Runa A (post three) has two wins in the prelims but will have to bounce back after finishing fifth in the fourth leg, and Whats Stanley Got A (post one), who has a pair of runner-ups and victory in his series appearances thus far, is back in action after taking the fourth round off.
Backstreet Shadow has the pole position in the second flight (race nine) after tallying on Monday night (April 8). Dunkin’ (post four) won in rounds two and three but made a miscue before the start in the fourth leg and will look to get back on track. Covered Bridge (post two) won back in the opening round and will look to duplicate that feat in this race.
Linedrive Hanover (post two) skipped the fourth prelim but returns on Monday night (April 15) in the last section (race 10). He’ll match up against former series champions Hellabalou (post three) and Funatthebeach N (post six).
A full look at the fields is as follows:
Division 1 / Race 2
Post-Horse-Sire-Driver-Trainer
1-Whats Stanley Got A (Heston Blue Chip)-George Brennan-Cory Stratton
2-Venturesome Arden N (Captaintreacherous)-George Brennan-Ricky Bucci
3-Rocknroll Runa A (Rock N Roll Heaven)-Mark MacDonald-Larry Stalbaum
4-This Is The Plan (Somebeachsomewhere)-Yannick Gingras-Ron Burke
5-Pleaseletmeknow (American Ideal)-Matt Kakaley-Travis Alexander
Division 2 / Race 9
Post-Horse-Sire-Driver-Trainer
1-Backstreet Shadow Ā (Shadow Play)-Matt Kakaley-Travis Alexander
2-Covered Bridge (American Ideal)-Jordan Stratton-Jeff Gillis
3-Hemsworth N (Sweet Lou)-Tim Tetrick-Jared Bako
4-Dunkin (Pet Rock)-Tim Tetrick-Scott Di Domenico
5-Coaches Corner (Always A Virgin)-Jason Bartlett-Per Engblom
6-Semi Tough Ā (Somebeachsomewhere)-Yannick Gingras-Ron Burke
Division 3 / Race 10
Post-Horse-Sire-Driver-Trainer
1-Strengthfromabove (Tellitlikeitis)-Jason Bartlett-Besim Odza
2-Linedrive Hanover (Betting Line)-Scott Zeron-Linda Toscano
3-Hellabalou (Sweet Lou)-Yannick Gingras-Ron Burke
4-Leonidas A (Mach Three)- Austin Siegelman-Matthew Medeiros
5-Idealsomemagic A (American Ideal)-George Brennan-Cory Stratton
6-Funatthebeach N (Somebeachsomewhere)-Jordan Stratton-Jeff Gillis
Point totals for the MGM Borgata Pacing Series heading into the final leg are availableĀ here.
The $200,000-added final of the MGM Borgata Pacing Series is slated to take place on Monday, April 22. This year’s MGM Borgata Pacing Series final will also have a “win and you’re in” feature for the $125,000 Birthday Invitational Pace in May to celebrate 125 years of MGM Yonkers Raceway, the Battle of Lake Erie at MGM Northfield on June 8 and the Aria Invitational at Yonkers (scheduled for Sept. 7).
The John Brennan Trotting Series will be added to the current mix of ongoing stakes races at MGM Yonkers Raceway on Wednesday (April 10) with five $25,000 tilts to get that event underway. The John Brennan Trotting Series, which has three prelims prior to the $55,000-added final on April 31, is named in honor of the longtime SOA of NY horsemen’s representative who passed away from complications of COVID-19 in March 2020. The series is for 3-year-olds and older who were non-winners of six pari-mutuel races or $200,000 through Feb. 1, 2024, with winners over $250,000 as of that date not eligible.
Friday night’s (April 12) program at MGM Yonkers Raceway will be headlined by two $40,000 splits of the last round of the Blue Chip Matchmaker Series for pacing mares. Tony’s Mom (post two) and Incaseyoudidntknow (post eight) each seek their second win in the prelims in the first division (race five), while the other section (race nine) has leg-winners Lit De Rose (post one), Dougs Babe A (post two), Delitfulcatherin N (post four) and Racine Bell (post seven). The $125,000-added final of the Blue Chip Matchmaker Series is also slated to take place on Monday, April 22.
Point totals for the Blue Chip Matchmaker Series going into the last round can be foundĀ here.
Live racing takes place at Yonkers on a Monday-Friday schedule with post time each night at 7 P.M. (EDT).