Plainville, MA — After two narrow defeats from outside posts, Binge On Yankee has been knocking on the door of the top class at Plainridge Park the past two weeks and on Thursday (May 7), he knocked it down by winning the featured $25,000 Open Handicap pace.
Binge On Yankee (Mitchell Cushing) got away fourth as Sweethomealabama N (Cory Stratton) led the field to the half in :55. At that station, Cushing pushed Binge On Yankee into the breeze and marched his way to second at three-quarters, only a half-length behind the leading Sweethomealabama N.
Binge On Yankee continued to advance through the last turn and had gained the lead heading into the stretch. From there, he paced with conviction to the line, where he won by three-quarters of a length ahead of the fast closing Two Fold Cold (Dave Ingraham) and Belmont Royale N (Aaron Byron).
It was the second win in four 2026 starts for the bettor’s choice, Binge On Yankee ($3.80), who is owned by his trainer Mark Eaton, in partnership with Robert Griffin.
Earlier in the $19,500 upper-level conditioned pace, Rockin On Venus (Shawn Gray) sat second behind Heinikin Bythebay (Jay Randall) who set fast fractions of :27, :54 and 1:22.1, before being engaged by Jackson Cooper (Nick Graffam) heading into the final turn. Heinikin Bythebay and Jackson Cooper battled through that bend, but at the same time, Gray tipped Rockin On Venus from his cozy pocket spot and swung three-deep into the stretch. Rockin On Venus then bolted past them both en route to a 1:51 victory.
It was the second win in the last three starts for Rocking On Venus ($11.60), who is owned by Pollack Racing and trained by Enrico Robinson.
Mitchell Cushing and Kevin Switzer Jr. both scored driving hat tricks on Thursday while a training double was achieved by Enrico Robinson.
Racing resumes at Plainridge Park on Monday (May 11) at 4 p.m. and there will be a $5,547 carryover in the Wicked Hi-5 pentafecta wager in the sixth race.
Free full card past performance programs for every live card of racing at Plainridge Park can always be downloaded at their website (plainridgeparkcasino.com) under the “Racing” tab. You can also watch all the race replays on that same page.