YONKERS, NY, Sunday, November 25, 2018- Yonkers Raceway's Sunday (Nov. 25th) matinee saw an anxiously-pocketed Andy Ray (Jason Bartlett, $7.60) winning the featured $44,000 Open Handicap.
The Sunday feature went at the flat mile, one race after the seven added-distance 'French' trots.
The field of seven was effectively downsized to four as three of the gang-The Last Chapter (Matt Kakaley), Crazy About Pat (Jim Marohn Jr.) and Gruden (Dan Dube)-did the dance of the damned.
Meanwhile, Andy Ray-from post position No. 5-worked around 1-2 choice Lean Hanover (Jordan Stratton) for the lead before a :28.1 opening quarter-mile.
He then gave it up to DW's NY Yank (George Brennan), with that one finding a :57.4 intermission. However, 'Andy' was getting' itchy and gettin' out before a 1:26.3 three-quarters.
Andy Ray disposed of DW's NY Yank, but Lean Hanover was poised right behind. The people's preference proved no match, though, as Andy Ray finished it off by three-quarters of a length in 1:55.3. A tiring DW's NY Yank was third, dividing the smaller envelope with a trotting-in-place Lazarus (Brent Holland) and The Last Chapter.
For second choice Andy Ray, a 6-year-old Crazed gelding owned by Yinson Quezada and trained by Anette Lorentzon, it was his sixth win in 27 seasonal starts. The exacta paid $16.40, the triple returned $58.50 and the superfecta paid $251.50.
Sunday's incarnation of the 'New York, New York Double' featured a winning combination of 5-Tequila Sunday (Aqueduct's 1st race) and 1-Quick Summer (Yonkers' 5th race), returning $23.70 for every correct $1 ticket. Total pool was $3,416.
The next Sunday matinee is Dec. 2nd (post time TBA).
by Frank Drucker, for Yonkers Raceway