by Frank Drucker, publicity director, Yonkers Raceway

Yonkers, NY — They opened the entry box for Saturday night’s first round of Yonkers Raceway’s George Morton Levy Memorial Pacing Series and the names kept pouring out.

A total of 43 of the 52 nominees have declared their intention to participate in the first of five preliminary rounds, necessitating six $50,000 divisions (races 4, 6, 8, 9, 10 and 11).

Leading the first event are a pair of millionaires, 2008 Levy winner Special Report (Larry Stalbaum, post 3) and Blueridge Western (Dave Palone, post 7).

The second grouping finds Chasin Racin (Corey Callahan, post 6) making his seasonal debut after earning nearly a half-million dollars in 2009.

Division 3 sees Badlands Nitro (Callahan, post 2) and his $1.5 million career resume hit town for the first time since winning the 2008 Art Rooney Pace. He takes on Jeremy’s Successor (Tyler Buter, post 7) — no worse than second in six seasonal starts — as well as local standouts Dave Ain’t Here (Jim Pantaleano, post 1) and Legal Litigator (Daniel Dube, post 5), among others.

Saturday night’s well-matched fourth Levy event includes the 2010 pari-mutuel debut of Mr Wiggles (Callahan, post 3), yet another career seven-figure performer in this series. He sees some tough local talent in the form of McCedes (Jason Bartlett, post 4) and Wholly Louy (Cat Manzi, post 5).

The penultimate Levy legion features defending series champ Foiled Again (Bartlett, post 5) and his million-dollar smile returning to the pari-mutuel wars for the first time since late November. He exchanges glances with Western Ace (Callahan, post 2) and Psilvuheartbreaker (Jim Meittinis, post 4), both of whom have also cracked the $1 million plateau.

Speaking of millions, Saturday night’s final Levy grouping stars Southwind Lynx (Callahan, post 5), a $1.4 million career earner and winner of Yonkers’ only million-dollar event — the ’07 Rooney. He is also the fifth of George Teague’s quintet to see action in this series. He drew in against Tidewater Tomahawk (Jordan Stratton, post 2), owner of the fastest local mile (1:52.2) of the season.

The Levy, Yonkers’ premier Free-For-All event, offers five preliminary rounds leading to a finale Saturday night, May 1. Each prelim race goes for $50,000, with total purse of the series estimated at a cool million dollars.

Saturday night’s 12-race card also includes four $12,500 divisions in the second round of the Sagamore Hill Pacing Series for 3- and 4-year-old colts, horses and geldings.