Yonkers, NY — Four $50,000 divisions of the first of five preliminary rounds of the MGM Borgata Pacing Series, for horses and geldings, are set to take place on Monday (March 18) at MGM Yonkers Raceway.

The first split goes as race three on the 12-race program. Former Canadian Horse of the Year Desperate Man (post five, Matt Kakaley listed to drive for trainer Travis Alexander) is among the entrants, as is Fourever Boy (post four, Scott Zeron listed to drive for trainer Linda Toscano), the champion of last year’s Charles Juravinski Memorial at Ontario’s Flamboro Downs. Hemsworth N (post six, Joe Bongiorno listed to drive for trainer Jared Bako), who captured a leg and last year’s consolation, is also in this section.

Race four has Hellabalou (post four, Yannick Gingras listed to drive for trainer Ron Burke), the upset champion in the 2023 $511,000 MGM Borgata Pacing Series final. Another one of last year’s finalists, Funathebeach N (post six, Jordan Stratton listed to drive for trainer Jeff Gillis), is also in this tilt, as are former MGM Grand Messenger Stakes victor Pleaseletmeknow (post three, Kakaley listed for Alexander) and multiple stakes winner I Did It Myway (post five, Tim Tetrick listed to drive for trainer Chuck Crissman Jr.).

Hellabalou seeks to begin his title defense in the MGM Borgata Pacing Series in the second of four first-round preliminary splits on Monday. Mike Lizzi photo.

This Is The Plan (Gingras listed for Burke), the 2021 MGM Borgata Pacing Series champion, is in the third flight in race six. In addition to his title, This Is The Plan has made two other finals, finishing eighth in 2022 and fourth last year. Covered Bridge (Stratton listed for Gillis, post five), who finished third as the favorite in the championship a year ago, was also drawn into this event.

Leonidas A (post four, Austin Siegelman listed to drive for trainer Matthew Medeiros), who was second in last year’s final and Idealsomemagic A (post one, George Brennan listed to drive for trainer Cory Stratton) top the final division (race eight). They’ll be taken on by the likes of Linedrive Hanover (post two, Zeron listed for Toscano), who beat the great Bulldog Hanover in the 2022 Juravinski Memorial final and Dunkin’ (post five, Tim Tetrick listed to drive for trainer Scott Di Domenico), who had the most wins by a Standardbred in North America in 2023 with 21, and series veteran Semi Tough (post six, Gingras listed for Burke).

Here are the full fields for Monday’s races:

Division 1 – Race 3
1. Venturesome Arden N – Brent Holland – Ricky Bucci
2. Sumomentsomwhere A – Yannick Gingras – Ron Burke
3. Red Right Hand – Yannick Gingras – Nancy Takter
4. Fourever Boy – Scott Zeron – Linda Toscano
5. Desperate Man – Matt Kakaley – Travis Alexander
6. Hemsworth N – Joe Bongiorno – Jared Bako

Division 2 – Race 4
1. Rocknroll Runa A – Mark MacDonald – Larry Stalbaum
2. Whats Stanley Got A – Jordan Stratton – Cory Stratton
3. Pleaseletmeknow – Matt Kakaley – Travis Alexander
4. Hellabalou – Yannick Gingras – Ron Burke
5. I Did It Myway – Tim Tetrick – Chuck Crissman Jr.
6. Funatthebeach N – Jordan Stratton – Jeff Gillis

Division 3 – Race 6
1. Thunder Hunter Joe – Scott Zeron – Andrew Adamczyk
2. Naturally Gifted A – Jordan Stratton – Tahnee Camilleri
3. Ohoka Le Bron N – Jim Pantaleano – Ricky Bucci
4. This Is The Plan – Yannick Gingras – Ron Burke
5. Covered Bridge – Jordan Stratton – Jeff Gillis
6. Cranbourne N – Austin Siegelman – Matthew Medeiros

Division 4 – Race 8
1. Idealsomemagic A – George Brennan – Cory Stratton
2. Linedrive Hanover – Scott Zeron – Linda Toscano
3. Coaches Corner – Jason Bartlett – Per Engblom
4. Leonidas A – Austin Siegelman – Matthew Medeiros
5. Dunkin’ – Tim Tetrick – Scott Di Domenico
6. Semi Tough – Yannick Gingras – Ron Burke

Preliminary round action in the MGM Borgata Pacing Series will run through April 15, with the $200,000-added final scheduled to take place on April 22. That card will also have the $150,000-added Blue Chip Matchmaker Series final and consolation races for both events.

The Blue Chip Matchmaker Series gets underway on Friday (March 15) with a trio of $40,000 tests for pacing mares (races two, four and nine on the 12-race card).

MGM Yonkers Raceway is currently operating on a Monday-Friday live racing schedule with post time each night at 7 p.m. (EDT).