Yonkers, NY — Hunting Glory and Cooperstown Boy won the pair of New York Sire Stakes divisions for 3-year-old male pacers on Thursday night (Aug. 13) at MGM Yonkers Raceway in similar fashion, both rallying by the favorite in the stretch from the pocket.
In the $82,500 first grouping, Knoxville (driven by Tyler Buter) was in front through fractions of :27, :55.2 and 1:23.1 with Hunting Glory (Ridge Warren) in the two-hole. Warren angled Hunting Glory off the pylons on the last turn, and after a battle through the lane, Hunting Glory got up late to score by a half length in 1:52. Knoxville had to settle for second, followed by Fearless Partners (Jordan Stratton), Hunt Off The Press (Doug McNair) and Hard To Forget (Colin Kelly).
A Huntsville gelding, Hunting Glory is trained by Robert Cleary for owner Royal Wire Products Inc. Hunting Glory, who was bred by Southwind Farms, has three wins, four seconds and two thirds from 12 starts, has earned $204,334, and paid $12.42 to win as the 5-1 fourth choice. He keyed a $21.12 exacta and a $55.54 trifecta.
All eyes were on MGM Grand Messenger Stakes champion Fragment (Yannick Gingras) in the $81,000 second split, and he moved up two-wide to take the lead away from Unmatched Wisdom (Leon Bailey) past the :27.3 quarter. Fragment then backed down the tempo to :56.3 to the half before he picked it back up to 1:24.3 at three-quarters as Unmatched Wisdom vacated the pocket but immediately began to back away, allowing Cooperstown Boy (McNair), who had been sitting third, to advance into the pocket.
Cooperstown Boy stalked Fragment all the way around the far turn, and then McNair fired him to the outside for the drive to the finish. Fragment had the jump and dug in, but Cooperstown Boy was able to vault past the 1-9 favorite late, defeating him by a head in 1:52.2. Unmatched Wisdom wound up third over Twin B Manhunt (Joe Bongiorno).
Another gelding by Huntsville, Cooperstown Boy was sent out by Jared Bako for owner NY Seb Inc. Unraced as a 2-year-old and bred by Jeff McFadden and Jeff Roberts, Cooperstown Boy has a summary of 3-2-0 from seven outings, has put away $98,025, and returned $38.48 to win as the 18-1 second choice. He led a $38.16 exacta and trifecta wagering was not offered.
Two $20,000 New York Excelsior Series events on the program were won by Magic Journey (by American Ideal and bred by owners The OK Corral and Dr. Andrew Roberts, paid $21.72 to win) in 1:51.3 for driver Tyler Buter and trainer Rob Harmon, and Johnny Wiggles (by Huntsville and bred by James Crawford IV, paid $5.30 to win) in 1:54.2 for co-owner/driver Doug McNair, co-owner John Stamatis and trainer Jared Bako.
Thursday night’s Pick-5 sequence was not hit, leading to a $7,081.36 carryover and a $35,000 guaranteed pool in the wager on Friday (Aug. 14).
The guarantee in the Pick-5 is being offered as part of the USTA’s Strategic Wagering Program, and free past performances, courtesy of TrackMaster, will be available at handicapping.ustrotting.com. The Pick-5, which begins in race five, has a $1 minimum and a takeout rate of 20%.
MGM Yonkers Raceway currently hosts live harness racing on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday evenings at 6:45 p.m. (EDT) and Saturdays at 3:30 p.m. (EDT).