Six world-class European trotters touched down Wednesday morning (October 5) at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, ready to compete in Yonkers Raceway’s $1 million Yonkers International Trot.
The million-dollar event, set for Saturday afternoon (October 15), features 10 invitees racing at the mile-and-one-quarter distance. First post that day is 1:10 p.m., with the race scheduled for 3:20 p.m. For more information on the race, click here.
The arriving group represents five of the seven countries that are vying for the attractive purse, which equals last season’s bounty as the highest purse in New York harness history.
Elite trotters from Denmark, Finland, Italy, Norway and two from Sweden were on board, joining a trio from the United States and one from Canada in the global trotting classic.
The European invaders departed from Liège Airport in eastern Belgium (close to the German city of Düsseldorf) and landed at approximately 7 a.m. after a nearly-nine hour transcontinental flight of just over 3,700 miles (5,960 kilometers) or 3,703.4 miles.
The elite trotting sextet was vanned to Stewart Airport (Newburgh, NY) airport for a two-day quarantine. They will depart for Yonkers Raceway sometime Friday morning (October 7).
(With files from Yonkers Raceway)