Yonkers, NY – The Pacing and Trotting Triple Crowns get underway for 2022 with two $40,000 eliminations of both the MGM Yonkers Trot and MGM Grand Messenger Stakes on Friday night (June 24) at Yonkers Raceway. The top four finishers from each race will advance to the finals on Friday, July 1.

Joviality S, shown here winning at Yonkers on May 16, is one of the featured fillies in the MGM Yonkers Trot elimination. Mike Lizzi photo. 

All eyes will be on the filly Joviality S (post five, Brian Sears/Marcus Melander) in the first MGM Yonkers Trot elimination, where she will face six rivals. Joviality S won in New York Sire Stakes action at Yonkers on May 16 to begin her 3-year-old season and then went to Vernon Downs and took another New York Sire Stakes leg and the Empire Breeders Classic for sophomore trotting fillies. Dover In Motion (post four, Jordan Stratton/Jamie Macomber), who has won nine of 11 career starts, invades from Indiana to tackle Joviality S.

Justice (post four, Ake Svanstedt) took the Empire Breeders Classic for 3-year-old male trotters at Vernon last time out and leads the second MGM Yonkers Trot elimination. He’ll meet up with five foes, including Double Deceiver (post three, David Miller/Carter Pinske), a winner in Pennsylvania Sire Stakes competition last time out and the winner of the Kentucky Championship Series final as a freshman.

Gulf Shores (post three, Yannick Gingras/Brian Brown) tallied in the Ohio Sires Stakes at MGM Northfield Park on the 11th of June and ships in to headline the first MGM Grand Messenger Stakes elimination. Gulf Shores was the Ohio Sires Stakes champion in 2021 and then finished second, beaten just a nose, by eventual Dan Patch Award winner Monte Miki in the Breeders Crown final. Layton Hanover (post four, Matt Kakaley/Travis Alexander), a recent Pennsylvania Sire Stakes victor, will try to knock off the probable favorite.

Elimination two in the MGM Grand Messenger Stakes will see Hammering Hank (post three, Dexter Dunn/Brett Pelling) make his Yonkers debut. Hammering Hank won the Kindergarten Classic Series final in 2021 and returned to action with a third in the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes at Harrah’s Philadelphia. He’ll try and best the likes of last year’s MGM Springfield Stakes champion Pleaseletmeknow (post four, Kakaley/Alexander) and Grand Circuit and Pennsylvania Sire Stakes winner Market Based (post five, Dunn also listed for trainer Nancy Takter.

The full elimination fields with listed drivers/trainers are as follows:

MGM Grand Messenger Elim 1 (Race 7)

1-Captain Cowboy (Yannick Gingras/Ake Svanstedt)

2-Nautical Hanover (Todd McCarthy/Tony Alagna)

3-Gulf Shores (Yannick Gingras/Brian Brown)

4-Layton Hanover (Matt Kakaley/Travis Alexander

5-Boston (Joe Bongiorno/Jenn Bongiorno)

6-PJ Lou (Jason Bartlett/Mark Harder)

MGM Grand Messenger Elim 2 (Race 9)

1-Six Feet Apart (David Miller/Brian Brown)

2-Atlas Hanover (Dexter Dunn/Tony Alagna)

3-Hammering Hank (Dexter Dunn/Brett Pelling)

4-Pleaseletmeknow (Matt Kakaley/Travis Alexander)

5-Market Based (Dexter Dunn/Nancy Takter)

6-Huntanover (Tyler Buter/George Ducharme)

MGM Yonkers Trot Elim 1 (Race 8)

1-Kosher Mahoney (Yannick Gingras/Ron Burke)

2-Pour Mea Double (Tim Tetrick/Lucas Wallin)

3-Brave By Design (Joe Bongiorno/Jennifer Bongiorno)

4-Dover In Motion (Jordan Stratton/Jamie Macomber)

5-Joviality S (Brian Sears/Marcus Melander)

6-Slay (Tim Tetrick/Tony Alagna)

7-Quincy Market (Jason Bartlett/Nick Devita)

MGM Yonkers Trot Elim 2 (Race 10)

1-Robertsin (George Brennan/Nik Drennan)

2-Middleman (Brian Sears/D. Benny Eggers)

3-Double Deceiver (David Miller/Carter Pinske)

4-Justice (Ake Svanstedt trains/drives)

5-Majestic J (Todd McCarthy/Tony Alagna)

6-Saverio Hanover (David Miller/Ron Coyne Jr.)

The companion filly events, the New York New York mile for trotters and Park MGM for pacers, did not require eliminations and will go right to the finals on July 1. The horses who entered are listed below:

New York New York Mile

Cash Infusion

Gettinmystepsin

HL Revina

Jiggy Jog S

Little Pink Lies

Peyton Hanover

Quick Bet

What Should I Goo

Park MGM Pace

Fly Like An Angel

Gotthegreenlight

Lee Loo

Lightning Leia

Madeira Hanover

Nadina Hanover

Wickedly Innocent

Wine N Dine Me

Post time for the 11-race program on Friday night at Yonkers is at 6:55 p.m.