Keystone Velocity wins second straight Levy
April 21, 2018,by Ken Weingartner, USTA Media Relations Manager
Yonkers, NY — Keystone Velocity won his second consecutive George Morton Levy Memorial Pacing Series championship, moving to the lead as the field reached the quarter-mile point and retaining the top spot every step of the way from there to defeat Bit Of A Legend N by one length in 1:52 at Yonkers Raceway on Saturday (April 21).
Mike Lizzi photo
Keystone Velocity becomes the second horse after Foiled Again to defend his Levy title with a second consecutive victory.
Somewhere In L A finished third and Mach It So was fourth in the $532,000 event for older male pacers.
Western Fame, who started from post one, led the field around the first turn, followed by Dr J Hanover and Keystone Velocity. Dan Dube then put Keystone Velocity in gear and brushed to the front and recorded fractions of :26.4, :56.2, and 1:23.4 on his way to the win.
Keystone Velocity, a 10-year-old stallion, joins Foiled Again as the only back-to-back winners of the Levy. Foiled Again accomplished the feat in 2009 and 2010.
“He’s a very nice horse,” Dube said. “For sure he’s better with cover, from behind, but you can do whatever you want with him. When I went to the front and got a breather, it was good.”
Keystone Velocity, last year’s Dan Patch Award winner for best older male pacer, has won two of six races this year and earned $320,000. For his career, the son of Western Hanover out of Venus Killean has won 29 of 116 starts and earned $1.64 million.
Rene Allard trains Keystone Velocity for owners Allard Racing, Kapildeo Singh, Earl Hill Jr., and VIP Internet Stable.
Sent off as the 5-2 favorite, Keystone Velocity paid $7.00 to win.
- Posts drawn for finals of Levy, Matchmaker Series (Monday, April 16, 2018)
Post positions have been drawn for North America’s two richest races of the season to date, Yonkers Raceway’s $532,000 final of the George Morton Levy Memorial Pacing Series and $373,000 final of the Blue Chip Matchmaker.
- Levy and Matchmaker finals in Grand Circuit spotlight (Wednesday, April 18, 2018)
The Grand Circuit at Yonkers this week features the $532,000 final and the $100,000 consolation of the George Morton Levy series for open pacers, as well as the $373,000 final and $75,000 consolation in the Blue Chip Matchmaker series for open pacing mares.
- It’s not easy bein’ Western Fame (Wednesday, April 18, 2018)
If Western Fame were human, Mark MacDonald could envision him fidgeting with his necktie while bemoaning a lack of respect. A multiple-stakes-winning pacer, Western Fame has not been the favorite in his most recent six victories (five at odds of 9-2 or higher) and has been the betting public’s top choice only five times in his past 39 races. When he was the favorite during that span, he produced three wins and missed a fourth by a nose. In his past three starts, all in preliminary rounds of the George Morton Levy Memorial Pacing Series at Yonkers Raceway, Western Fame won twice and finished second by a half-length. On Saturday, the 5-year-old stallion competes in the $532,000 Levy championship, leaving from post No. 1 with MacDonald driving for trainer Jimmy Takter.
- Burke starters behind eight ball in Matchmaker and Levy finals (Friday, April 20, 2018)
Trainer Ron Burke will start one horse each in the Blue Chip Matchmaker and George Morton Levy Series finals Saturday night (April 21) at Yonkers Raceway and both will start from a disadvantageous post position. In a random draw, Lakeisha Hall and Rockin Ron were both burdened with post eight. Despite the bad luck, Burke is keeping a positive attitude and isn’t surrendering before races even begin.