by Frank Drucker, publicity director, Empire City at Yonkers Raceway

Yonkers, NY — Yonkers Raceway on Friday night (June 28) debuted its Jackpot Next Door Claiming Series, an event for pacers of both genders with $20,000 base price tags on their backs.

The seven races (five for lads, two for lasses) not only offered overstuffed fields — trailers in all but one of the groupings — but a crowd of folks with checks genuflecting at the feet of official “claims meister” Bob Miecuna. The tally showed a total of 139 claims entered on 25 different horses — including a stunning 29 on a single entrant (No Real Surprise) in the sixth race. For the record, local owner/trainer Peter Younger won the 29-way shake, which has to count for something.

“We’re very happy with the response to this series,” racing secretary Steve Starr said. “We knew it would be very popular, and we anticipate even more interest in the second round.”

A second-tier 10-holer even won the final division, as 47-1 P H Supercam (Brent Holland, $97) rallied to prevail in a life-best 1:54.

The five-Friday series offers a $20,000 purse for each prelim race. A horse may be claimed only during his/her first two series starts, with a 50 percent premium added to a second-start claim (in addition to standard allowances for age and gender).

The finals, worth $76,000 (boys) and $59,900 (girls), and their requisite consolations, are scheduled for July 26.

Yonkers’ pair of Friday night $46,000 co-featured Open Handicaps — for trotters and distaff pacers — were won by an odds-on Little Brown Fox (Brian Sears, $3.10) and a first-up Four Starz Roe (Jason Bartlett, $20.20).

Little Brown Fox was a narrow winner in the featured trot.

The featured trot — reduced to seven after eight-ball assignee Super Manning was an on-track scratch (lame) — saw Little Brown Fox hold off the mare Mystical Starlight (Eric Goodell) in what turned out to be a two-speed number.

It was Little Brown Fox — from what was now outside post position No. 7 — working around Mystical Starlight before a :28.1 opening quarter-mile. A rated, :58.3 middle half (:57.4, 1:26.4) played into the hands and hooves of the leader, who had minimal first-over angst from Stormont Lancelot (Mark MacDonald).

Little Brown Fox owned a 1-1/2 length lead in and out of the final turn, then kept his stubborn foe at bay by a head in 1:55.2. Stormont Lancelot, Tall Cotton (George Brennan) and Mugshot Jess (Jordan Stratton) came away with the remainder.

For Little Brown Fox, a 4-year-old son of Muscles Yankee trained by Jimmy Takter for co-owners Christina Takter, Brixton Medical, Jim and John Fielding and Brittany Farms, it was his third win in eight seasonal starts. The exacta paid $12.20, the triple returned $100.50 and the superfecta paid $411.

Sean Hamrock photos

Four Starz Roe was a 1:52.3 winner in the Mares Open.

Four Starz Roe did it the hard way from post No. 3. She moved from fifth to engage Rock N Soul (Brennan) after that one put up spirited sub-sections of :26.4, :56.2 and 1:23.3.

It was Four Starz Roe taking over past the three-quarters and taking a two length lead into the lane. Rock N Soul wasn’t quite done, however. She made a resurgent bid up the inside, only to miss by a neck in 1:52.3, a season’s-best effort for the winner. Third went to Keeper’s Destiny (Sears), as the 8-5 choice, with Brownsville Bomber (Daniel Dube) and Bullet Point (MacDonald) settling for the remainder.

For fifth-choice Four Starz Roe, a 6-year-old daughter of Four Starzzz Shark trained by PJ Fraley for owner Bamond Racing, it was her third win in a dozen ’13 tries. The exacta paid $80.50, with the triple returning $243.