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

Yonkers, NY — Yonkers Raceway’s Thursday Pick-5, buoyed by a $25,000 guaranteed pool—had the requisite guaranteed interest.

A total of $24,825 of fresh money was tossed in to accompany the $7,500 carryover (via a Tuesday non-hit), so the till was oversized.

The winning combination of 8/5/5/7/1, just one double-digit proposition and one delivered-the-goods favorite, returned $1,741.25 for every two quarters.

The Pick-5 is a 50-cent base wager offered on races 5 through 9 nightly. It has no consolation payoff, meaning if no one selects all five winners (as was the case Tuesday), the entire pool (minus takeout) moves to the next racing program.

The Pick-5 offers a $10,000 guaranteed pool every Monday and Tuesday (in conjunction with the US Trotting Association’s Strategic Wagering Program), with program pages for those “guarantee” days available at www.yonkersraceway.com.

Also of note during a brisk Thursday night at the office, driver Mark MacDonald—sidelined since the last week of January after post-accident (he wasn’t sure which one) surgery on his nose and cheekbone–made a successful return. MacDonald won with his first drive back, angling McEver ($19.80) off the cones to win the $6,500 third-race pace going away in 1:58