Yonkers, NY — Sir Pinocchio, Ari Ferrari J and Take All Comers were victorious in Friday night’s (Nov. 21) trio of $50,000 opening-leg divisions of the MGM Grand Prix Trotting Series at MGM Yonkers Raceway.
Last year’s Yonkers Trot champion, Sir Pinocchio (Jason Bartlett), led his six foes through panels of :28, :57.1 and 1:25.4 in the opening flight and then dug in through the lane to fend off pocket-sitter and 2-5 favorite Antognoni S (Yannick Gingras) by a head in a 1:53.3 mile, which bested Rich And Miserable’s previous track record for 4-year-old trotting geldings, set in 2019, by a fifth of a second. Ultion Face S (Tyler Buter) was the third-place finisher.
A 4-year-old Met’s Hall gelding, Sir Pinocchio is trained by Ed Hart for owner/breeder Carolyn Atherton. The 19-time winner has now earned $886,934 and paid $6.42 to win as the 2-1 second choice. The exacta was $11.16 and the trifecta $20.34.
The complexion of the second grouping changed on the first turn when 1-9 favorite Periculum (Scott Zeron) went off stride. With Periculum no longer in contention, Bartlett and Ari Ferrari J were on top at the :28 quarter, :57.3 half and 1:26 three-quarters, and a :29.1 final kicker got him to the wire a half length ahead of a closing Asteroid (Colin Kelly). Cecil Hanover (Gingras) had room on the inside in the stretch from the pocket but had to settle for third.
Tony Alagna trains Ari Ferrari J, a 5-year-old Walner stallion bred by M Biasuzzi Stales Inc., for owner Ken Jacobs. He has a summary of 16-14-5 from 57 tries, has pocketed $1,224,562, and returned $14.70 to win as the 6-1 second choice. He was atop a $57.30 exacta and a $246.32 trifecta.
Take All Comers (Todd McCarthy), who won the final of this series a year ago, started his title defense with a 1:55 triumph in the final split. He tracked Southwind Coors (Gingras) from the pocket to the :28.4 quarter and :57.2 half, then edged to the outside as Southwind Coors hit three-quarters in 1:26. Take All Comers advanced to challenge Southwind Coors on the final bend and then forged his way by in the lane to get the job done by a neck. Dire Straits (Zeron) checked in third.
Jim Campbell sent out Take All Comers, a 7-year-old gelded son of Creatine, for owner/breeder Runthetable Stables. Take All Comers has 23 wins, 14 seconds and 11 thirds from 77 starts, has banked $1,164,801 and paid $3.50 to win as the favorite. He keyed an $8 exacta and a $27.68 trifecta.
Two additional preliminary rounds in this series will take place on Friday, Dec. 5, and Friday, Dec. 12. Points for the series will be earned on a 50-25-12-8-5 scale (winner gets 50 points, runner-up gets 25, etc.). The top 10 point earners get a spot in the $250,000, 1-1/4 mile final, while the next 10 point earners go in the $75,000, 1-1/4 mile consolation on the same card.
The other big news from Friday’s program was that the Pick-5 was not hit, leading to a $10,459.69 carryover and a $25,000 guaranteed pool in the sequence when racing resumes on Monday (Nov. 24).
The guarantee in the Pick-5 is being offered as part of the USTA’s Strategic Wagering Program. Free past performances for the Pick 5, courtesy of TrackMaster, will be available at handicapping.ustrotting.com. The Pick-5, which begins in race 5 and has a $1 minimum, has a takeout rate of 20%.
In addition to the Pick-5 carryover and guaranteed pool, Monday night’s program also has four $50,000 divisions of the first leg of the MGM Grand Prix Pacing Series, in races 3, 5, 7 and 9.
MGM Yonkers Raceway is operating on a Monday-through-Friday live racing schedule with post time each night at 6:45 p.m. (EST), though Yonkers will only race on Monday (Nov. 24) and Tuesday (25. 25) next week before the oval goes dark Wednesday through Friday for Thanksgiving.