Drivers Tyler Buter and Scott Zeron both won a pair of divisions of the first round of the John Brennan Trotting Series on Wednesday night (April 5) at MGM Yonkers Raceway. Each of the six sections carried a purse of $25,000.
Buter teamed with trainer Ricky Bucci to tally with four-year-old Muscle Hill gelding Tachyon (1:55.2 winning mile, $26.20 to win) and five-year-old Archangel gelding P L Oscar (1:55.3, $6.40). Tachyon, a 12-1 shot who won for the seventh time in his career, is owned by Flatland Racing, while P L Oscar, the 2-1 favourite in his split, is also owned by Bucci. P L Oscar made his 11th appearance in the winner's circle.
Zeron's victories were courtesy of Outside The Fire (1:55.2, $3, pictured above) and C You Again DK (1:56, $3.80). Outside The Fire, a four-year-old gelded son of Cantab Hall co-owned by trainer Anette Lorentzon and ACL Stuteri AB, was the 1-2 favourite in his flight and now has 12 victories. C You Again DK, trained by Per Engblom for owners Engblom Stable and Kasper Foget, has now compiled a record of 25-9-2 from 66 tries. He was the 4-5 choice in his Brennan Series showdown.
Rounding the opening leg winners in the John Brennan Trotting Series were Spicy Nugget (1:55.4, $7.20) and Hoolie N Hector (1:57, $5). Spicy Nugget, a four-year-old gelding by Chapter Seven who was the 5-2 second choice and picked up his ninth victory, was driven by co-owner Yannick Gingras for trainer Ron Burke and co-owners Burke Racing Stable and Weaver Bruscemi. Braxten Boyd was at the lines behind Hoolie N Hector, a five-year-old gelded son of Muscles Yankee, for trainer Andrew Adamczyk and owner-breeder Joseph Meaney. Hoolie N Hector was dispatched as the 3-2 favourite in the night's final Brennan Series tilt and now has 12 wins.
The John Brennan Trotting Series is for three-year-olds and older who were non-winners of six pari-mutuel races or $150,000 through Feb. 1, 2023, with winners over $250,000 as of that date not eligible. The series features two more preliminary legs on April 12 and April 19 with a $79,000 final and a $35,000 consolation on April 26.
Stakes racing resumes on Friday night's (April 7) 11-race program with three $40,000 splits of the fourth leg of the Blue Chip Matchmaker Series for pacing mares. Amazing Dream N will look to stay undefeated in the event in the last of those tilts (race eight).
The MGM Borgata Pacing Series will then continue on Monday, April 10 with three $50,000 divisions of the fourth round. The second Borgata battle features five horses -- defending champion Funatthebeach N (Post 2, Jordan Stratton), Idealsomemagic A (Post 3, George Brennan), Hellabalou (Post 5, Yannick Gingras), Hemsworth N (Post 6, Kakaley) and Tattoo Artist (Post 7, Dexter Dunn) -- who have visited victory lane at some point during this year's MGM Borgata Pacing Series.
To complement the MGM Borgata Pacing Series, the Empire Terrace dining room will be open 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Mondays through April 24. Owners and fans are invited to attend the races and enjoy food from an ala carte menu. No reservations are required.
Also, continuing through this month, the Pick-5 pool on Thursdays at MGM Yonkers Raceway will be seeded with $10,000 and also have a guaranteed pool of $25,000. This initiative is being offered in partnership with the Standardbred Owners Association of New York as part of the United States Trotting Association's Strategic Wagering Program.
MGM Yonkers Raceway is currently operating on a Monday through Friday live racing schedule with post time at 7 p.m. (EDT).
(Yonkers Raceway)