Yonkers, NY — Two-year-old pacing fillies headlined Thursday night’s (July 11) program at MGM Yonkers Raceway in two $75,900 New York Sire Stakes events and three $20,000 New York Excelsior Series divisions.
In the first sire stakes split, Miss Genie Mae (Tyler Buter) showed speed from post five and worked her way around Odds On Enigma (Matt Kakaley) for the top spot past the :28.1 opening quarter. From there, Miss Genie Mae continued on the engine to the half in :57.3 and three-quarters in 1:27, but Odds On Enigma angled off the pylons to go on the attack on the final turn.
Odds On Enigma gained ground all the way to the wire, but Miss Genie Mae was game on the front end and kept her at bay by a nose in a 1:55.3 mile. Bueckers (Jason Bartlett), Brooklyn Bombshell (Yannick Gingras) and Country Reba (Jordan Stratton) rounded out the order.
A daughter of Courtly Choice, Miss Genie Mae was bred by Shaun Vallee and is co-owned by him in partnership with D P V Racing Stable. Trained by Roland Mallar, Miss Genie Mae won for the first time in two starts, has earned $51,825, and paid $4.40 to win as the 6-5 second choice.
Odds On Monetary (Kakaley) was the tempo setter through stations of :28.3, :57.3 and 1:26.3 in the other Sire Stakes grouping while Existential (George Brennan) sat in the pocket until she was sent two-wide on the way to three-quarters. That gave cover to Liberty Style (Bartlett), while Party Pumps (Braxten Boyd) elected to save ground.
On the final bend, Boyd had room to get off the pylons with Party Pumps, and she out-kicked Odds On Monetary through the lane to score by a neck in 1:56.2. Savage Cindy (Tyler Buter) was up for third.
Sent off as the longest shot on the board at 14-1, Party Pumps gave sire Courtly Choice a sweep of the Sire Stakes races. The Winbak Farm bred was sent out by Charlie Norris for owners Carrie Norris, Bradley Berlin and Jerald Barris, and she broke her maiden in her second lifetime appearance. Party Pumps has now pocketed $52,075 and returned $30.60 to win.
Winning the New York Excelsior Series contests were:
- Two Twenty Swift (by Huntsville and bred by Ross Bonafield) in 1:57.2 for driver Jason Bartlett, trainer Deborah Daguet and owners Donald MacRae and Beasty LLC., paid $3 to win
- Long Shore (by American Ideal and bred by Fair Winds Farm Inc.) in 1:55.3 for driver Scott Zeron, trainer Joe Pavia Jr. and owners Vincent Ferriero Jr., Dominic Pavia, Eric Prevost and Todd Frocione, paid $2.10 to win
- Patriot Miss (by American Ideal and bred by Bruce Potter) in 1:56 for driver Tyler Buter, trainer Roland Mallar and owner Jeffrey Nanna, paid $2.60 to win.
MGM Yonkers Raceway is currently operating on a Monday-Tuesday and Thursday-through-Saturday live racing schedule with post time each night at 6:45 p.m. (EDT). Please note there is also a 10-race program slated to take place at MGM Yonkers Raceway on Wednesday, July 16.