by Frank Drucker, Publicity Director, Empire City at Yonkers Raceway

Yonkers, NY — A first-up Keystone Wanda (Jim Marohn Jr., $12.20) held sway Friday night (Oct. 5), winning Yonkers Raceway’s $44,000 Filly and Mare Open Handicap Pace.

Mike Lizzi photo

Keystone Wanda was a narrow winner in a time of 1:53.

Showing no inclination to leave at all from assigned post position No. 2, Keystone Wanda in fact left a hole for Lispatty (Mark MacDonald) to drop in front of her. They, and everyone else, saw pole-assigned, 6-5 choice Frost Damage Blues (Jordan Stratton) lead through early intervals of :27.2 and :56.2.

They seemed comfy when Keystone Wanda moved from third, engaging the leader in and out of a 1:24.2 three-quarters. Despite that being just a :28 third substation, the leader was in trouble.

It was Keystone Wanda — in her 200th career start — going by early in the lane as Agent Q (Eric Goodell) was doing her thing from third-over. The former whipped the latter by a diminishing head in 1:53. Lispatty, stuck behind a stopping leader, did get third, with a second-over Magic Forces (George Brennan) and Medusa (Joe Bongiorno) settling for the minors. Frost Damage Blues backpedaled to last among the octet.

For Keystone Wanda, a third-choice, 8-year-old daughter of Somebeachsomewhere owned as Allard Racing by trainer Rene Allard, it was her seventh win in 29 seasonal starts. The exacta paid $37, the triple returned $309 and the superfecta paid $1,387.