Debut of French-American Club series part of Yonkers’ all-trot Sunday
August 1, 2018,by Frank Drucker, publicity director, Empire City at Yonkers Raceway
Yonkers, NY — Yonkers Raceway’s all-trot Sunday (Aug. 5) matinee features a $54,800 Open Handicap Trot and the beginning of the French-American Trotting Club Series.
Post time for the 10-race card is 12:30 p.m., with all races — save for the seventh — of the ‘French’ theme, as in overflow fields at the mile-and-a-quarter distance.
The weekly trotting feature begins the program, with lass NF Happenstance (Jack Parker Jr., post five) with as much of a resume as any of her rivals. The 8-year-old S J’s Caviar ma’am couldn’t hack a second move in her last outing, but otherwise has been a cash cow ($169,225) this season.
NF Happenstance, owned by James Moore and trained by Carol-Jamieson-Parker, has eight wins and a half-dozen seconds in 18 ’18 tries. She’s doing her damage by adroitly leaving the gate, thus won’t be hard to find early here.
Newly-minted millionaire Dewycolorintheline (Mark MacDonald, post two) returns to the big table in search of a third consecutive win, while The Last Chapter (Brent Holland, post three) and Fashion Creditor (Andy Miller, post four) also whipped lessers in their last tries.
Cash Me Out (Jim Marohn Jr., post one) is just 2-for-20 this season, but threw in six seconds and five thirds, while Mostinterestingman (Jordan Stratton, post six) was a two-move second in last weekend’s trotting feature.
Races two and three comprise the first of three preliminary rounds in the French-American Trotting Club Series, restricted to those French-breds who were vetted overseas, then purchased by ‘local’ interests. Of the 19 horses entered in the two races, 11 have made purse starts since arriving, with five winning at least once.
Each of the prelim races (second round is Aug. 19, third is Aug. 26) goes for $35,000, with a $120,000 final set for Sunday (Sept. 2).
Note this Sunday’s ‘New York, New York Double’ consists of Saratoga’s first race (post time 1 p.m.) and the third from Yonkers (post time 1:30 p.m.). Program pages shall be sent when available.