Yonkers, NY – The best 2- and 3-year-old trotters and pacers in the Empire State will converge on Yonkers Raceway on Friday night (Sept. 10) for the New York Night of Champions. The 10-race program features eight $200,000 New York Sire Stakes finals in races two through nine.

Two-year-old trotting fillies kick off the action in race two, with their final sponsored by the Agriculture & NYS Horse Breeding Development Fund. Joviality S (Brian Sears listed for trainer Marcus Melander) was undefeated in the sire stakes program this year but will have to overcome post position eight to take home the crown. Bomb Hugger (post six, Anthony MacDonald/Melissa Beckwith) started three-for-three in the sire stakes but will need to rebound after making a break at Yonkers on August 19.

Justice looks to remain undefeated in the Winbak Farm trot on Friday at Yonkers. Chris Brokate photo.

The undefeated Chapter Seven colt Justice (Ake Svanstedt trains/drives) landed post four in race three’s 2-year-old colt and gelding trot final, sponsored by Winbak Farm. Justice will renew acquaintances with Cool Papa Bell (post five, Jason Bartlett/Jim Campbell) after just a head separated those two at Saratoga on August 23.

Next up are the 2-year-old colt and gelding pacers, and their final is sponsored by the Agriculture & NYS Horse Breeding Development Fund. Pleaseletmeknow (post two, Matt Kakaley/Travis Alexander) won the MGM Springfield Stakes at Yonkers earlier this year, but he faces a strong group that includes Stretch The Line (post three, Jordan Stratton/Erv Miller), Forrest Blu (post six, Tyler Buter/John Butenschoen), and Pickup Man Hanover (post seven, Billy Dobson/Monica Krist).

A talented group of rookie pacing fillies will then take to the track in their final, which is again sponsored by the Agriculture & NYS Horse Breeding Development Fund. Joyride Hanover (post two, Tim Tetrick/Eddie Dennis), Gotthegreenlight (post three, Dexter Dunn/Nifty Norman), and Just Divine (post four, Yannick Gingras/Ron Burke) haven’t missed the board in their respective careers so far, and all drew well for this event.

The focus then shifts to the sophomores, with the trotting fillies first up in their final, sponsored by Allerage Farms. Iteration won the New York Sire Stakes final for this group last year, and she is back to defend her title from post six for Brian Sears and Marcus Melander. Moni For Lindy (post one, Gingras/Domenico Cecere), a five-time winner this year, and Splash Blue Chip (post three, Svanstedt trains/drives) both drew inside Iteration.

Test of Faith headlines the three-year-old Cameo Hills Farm trot. Georgia Panagi photo.

Test Of Faith (post five, David Miller/Brett Pelling) is the main attraction in race seven’s 3-year-old filly pace final, sponsored by Cameo Hills Farm. A sire stakes champion a year ago, the daughter of Art Major has come back this year to win twice in the program. She also took the Empire Breeders Classic and the Park MGM Pace here at Yonkers.

Ahundreddollarbill (post six, Andrew McCarthy/Tony Alagna), a 3-year-old gelding by Chapter Seven, has broken track records throughout New York State this year, including at Yonkers in both his MGM Yonkers Trot elimination and in a later sire stakes appearance, and he’s the headliner in race eight’s final, sponsored by Crawford Farms. Ambassador Hanover (post four, Svanstedt trains/drives), who was second in the MGM Yonkers Trot and third in the Hambletonian, will look to knock him off.

Ahundreddollarbill is the likely favorite in the Crawford Farms trot on Friday evening. Georgia Panagi photo.

New York Night of Champions concludes with the final for 3-year-old colt and gelding pacers, sponsored by Blue Chip Farms. The defending champion for this group is King James Express, and that Art Major gelding has post five for Jason Bartlett and Mark Harder. Town Gossip (post four, Joe Bongiorno/Jenn Bongiorno) comes into the final having won four of his last six starts.

First race post time on Friday night at Yonkers is 7:15 p.m.

The full draws for the finals are as follows:

Ag. & NYS Horse Breeding Development Fund 2YO Filly Trot
1-Gertrude
2-Valentina Blu
3-Seven On The Rocks
4-Little Pink Lies
5-Gettinmystepsin
6-Bomb Hugger
7-Cash Infusion
8-Joviality S
AE1-Cranberry Lake
AE2-She’s A Scorcher

Winbak Farm 2YO C&G Trot
1-Grand Spa
2-Molotov Cocktail
3-Quincy Market
4-Justice
5-Cool Papa Bell
6-Chapheart
7-Secret Rule
8-Velvet Style
AE1-T Rex Blue Chip
AE2-Valentine Express

Ag. & NYS Horse Breeding Development Fund 2YO C&G Pace
1-Flip My Chip
2-Pleaseletmeknow
3-Stretch The Line
4-Hurrikane Chuck
5-JD
6-Forrest Blu
7-Pickup Man Hanover
8-Greg The Leg
AE1-Bounty Hunter
AE2-Seven Hundred

Ag. & NYS Horse Breeding Development Fund 2YO Filly Pace
1-Hamptons Babe
2-Joyride Hanover
3-Gotthegreenlight
4-Just Divine
5-Kele Kele
6-A Girl That Twirls
7-Reenactment
8-Twenty Grand
AE1-Throw The Dice
AE2-American Ticket

Allerage Farm 3YO Filly Trot
1-Moni For Lindy
2-Illuminata
3-Splash Blue Chip
4-Contested Hanover
5-Titans Hope
6-Iteration
7-Sweeping Rainbow
8-Soukup Blue Chip
AE1-Aela Jamieson
AE2-Tranquility K

Cameo Hills 3YO Filly Pace
1-Tava
2-Rightfully Mine
3-Delightful Z Tam
4-Summer Rae
5-Test Of Faith
6-Heart Of Mine
7-Think Of Galaxies
8-Purameri
AE1-Easy To Please
AE2-Party Queen

Crawford Farms 3YO C&G Trot
1-Credit Con
2-Sevenshadesofgrey
3-Dewey Arnold
4-Ambassador Hanover
5-Dee’s Red Delicous
6-Ahundreddollarbill
7-Balenciaga
8-Seven Nation Army
AE1-Seventier
AE2-Latin Lover

Blue Chip Farms 3YO C&G Pace
1-Southwind Petyr
2-I’ll Drink To That
3-Stop Staring
4-Town Gossip
5-King Jamex Express
6-Natameri
7-Mullinax
8-Major Bean
AE1-Bottle Rocket
AE2-Hidden Assassin