by Frank Drucker, publicity director, Empire City at Yonkers Raceway

Yonkers, NY — A field of 31 horses have entered the opening round of Yonkers Raceway’s George Morton Levy Memorial Pacing Series. That number necessitated four, $50,0000 divisions on Saturday night, March 28. Post time for the 11-race card is 7:10 p.m., with the Levy races going as races 7 through 10.

The million-dollar (est.) series, the Raceway’s premier Free-For-All event, is comprised of five preliminary legs, contested over consecutive Saturdays, leading to a $200,000 (est.) final May 2. The series, begun in 1978 and reinstituted in 2007 after an 11-year hiatus, is named for the founder of Roosevelt Raceway who was inducted into the Harness Racing Hall of Fame in 1966.

Saturday night’s first Levy event is led by Share The Delight (Yannick Gingras, post four), who crosses the river with back-to-back wins to his credit. The 4-year-old statebred son of Bettor’s Delight, trained by Linda Toscano for Colorado co-owners The Four Horsemen Stable and Algonquin Farms, is fresh from a career-best 1:50.1 effort last weekend.

McCedes (Gingras also listed, post one) makes his second start back after a $428,000 season in 2008. The 4-year-old McArdle gelding, trained by Ron Burke for Burke Racing, Weaver Bruscemi, JJK Stables and James Koran, won the $500,000 New Jersey Classic as a sophomore.

The second Levy division finds millionaire Palone Ranger (Cat Manzi, post one) looking to remain locally sharp. The 6-year-old son of Western Ideal, who won the ’06 Messenger here, has rattled off a pair of handy Westchester overnight wins. Greg Peck trains for Four Friends Racing Stable.

Special Report (Larry Stalbaum, post five) — like Palone Ranger a seven-figure career performer — begins defense of his 2008 Levy crown. The 7-year-old Keystone Raider gelding, owned by Hugo Iodice and trained by Kimberly Asher, is looking for a 50th career victory.

The third Levy grouping includes King Cat Anvil N (Jordan Stratton, post one), a rock-solid Open Handicap combatant who won last week’s local feature in a season’s-best 1:53.4. The 7-year-old Down Under Christian Cullen gelding, owned by John Kiwczak and trained by David Stratton, went up and over the half-million-dollar career earnings plateau earlier this season.

The last seating of the first Levy week includes Blueridge Western (Jason Bartlett, post two), who has been freakishly good of late. The 4-year-old Allamerican Ingot gelding threw out a life-best 1:49.4 effort at the Meadowlands two Saturdays ago, then returned here with a 1:52.2 win last Saturday. That effort matched the fastest local mile of the season. Blueridge Western, trained by Kevin McDermott for owner Francis Azur, is closing in on $800,000 in lifetime loot. He banked nearly $600,000 in ’08, winning the $215,000 final of the Berry’s Creek.

Driver Ryan Anderson finds himself triple-listed early behind J P Jackpot (post one), Booze Cruzin (post four) and Riggins (post seven). J P Jackpot won the $60,000 Dominic Frinzi Invitational here to begin his season, Booze Cruzin has been a scourge in Illinois throughout his solid career, while Riggins was a standout New York Sire Stakes performer at 2 and 3 and has hit the board in all five (Meadowlands) tries this season at 4.

Saturday night’s 11-race card also includes six $12,500 trials in Round 2 of the Sagamore Hill Pacing Series for 3- and 4-year-olds. Those races go as the first half-dozen on the program.

Friday night offers three $40,000 divisions in the opening round of the new Blue Chip Matchmaker (Open Mare Pace), along with four $12,500 divisions in Round 2 of the Petticoat Pacing Series (3- and 4-year-old fillies and mares).