MEET STATS: 120 - 408 / $723.00 (-$93.00)
BEST BETS: 23 - 40 / $87.00 (+$7.00)
SPOT PLAYS: 7 - 40 / $88.40 (+$8.40)
BEST BET - JIMMY CONNOR B (9th)
SPOT PLAY - MOHATU AS (1st)
Race 1 - Winners of 2 but not more than 5 PM Races or 60000LT Trot
(3) MOHATU AS never threatened from the eight-hole last Friday but I'm just drawing a line through that given the bad draw and the broken equipment notation. His other recent appearances make me think he should be a good fit in this class, and unlike many of the 3-year-olds in here, he doesn't have stakes events he's prepping for. (6) MISS I LA raced well in the New Jersey Sire Stakes over at the Meadowlands, including a second in the final. I imagine she's here readying for the upcoming New York New York Mile for sophom*ore trotting fillies. (5) MR GRANT makes his second start of his 3-year-old campaign. He had a solid season as a rookie that included a third in the rich New Jersey Classic.
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Race 2 - 40000CLM Pace
(1) GDS THUNDER GB comes off a sick scratch but has been chasing Pound For Pound lately, and that rival might be the sharpest horse at Yonkers right now. He doesn't face anybody that imposing here, and hopefully he'll take advantage. (2) THRASHER didn't fire when last seen two weeks ago but does have a pair of wins in this class in his lines. He is now with trainer Dennis Laterza off another claim and switches drivers to the often-aggressive Brent Holland. (3) MAXIMUS RED A has hit the board in five of his last seven appearances and gets significant post relief tonight off his last two efforts.
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Race 3 - 20000CLM Pace
(6) HE'S HALF NAKED was third in a race down at Harrah's Philadelphia on June 7 that saw some wild fractions set. He makes his second start out of his barn tonight and was very sharp out in Ohio prior to coming to the East Coast. (5) IM A POWERPLAY A went down the road to win last Saturday and should be full of confidence off that performance. (4) MISSILE SEELSTER hasn't won in 2024 but did finish second in the event taken by IM A POWERPLAY A a week ago, showing his runner-up result on May 25 was not a fluke.
Race 4 - 40000CLM Pace
(5) CLEVELAND B MIKI has closed with pace in two straight and picks up Dan Dube for Pat Lachance, who is unfortunately going to be out of action for a while after getting injured last week. (2) FINAL CHEESERECIPE made a break before the start last week and lost all chance. That miscue looks like it was out of character, and I can see him quickly bouncing back. (1) TUFFENUFTOWEARPINK shows a pair of wins and a second in his last three appearances in this class. He was claimed by Laterza out of his victorious effort last Saturday.
Race 5 - F&M NW1/17751LT Pace
I'm going to hope (3) LADY BLUE JAY figured something out in that qualifier last Friday as she minded her manners and finished in 28 and change to gain some ground. She races out of a high-percentage barn and drew inside. (5) KNOCK TWICE was no match for the top New York Sire Stakes fillies at Tioga on 6-2 but had a win and a second in this class at Yonkers prior to that. (7) AMERICAN HOPE returns from Pocono off a fourth-place finish at their NW1 level. She had a trio of runner-up results in May and gets reunited with George Brennan.
Race 6 - F&M Winners of 2 but not more than 4 PM Races or 60000LT Pace
(1) SWEETSOUTHRNLASS N qualified strong over the track on 6-7 and trainer Ricky Bucci's barn has gotten very hot as of late. I'll look for her to deliver in her U.S. debut tonight. (2) HUNTING LINDY landed another inside post here and has a win and a second at Yonkers since returning to action last month. (4) THINK AHEAD won recently over the half-mile oval at Western Fair in Ontario and makes her first start for leading trainer Per Engblom.
Race 7 - NW10281L5/Winners in the Last Start of the Base Class NW7500L5 Pace
(6) IGNATIUS A ships north from Harrah's Philadelphia where he was a closing fifth in what is essentially that track's top level pace on 6-2. He lures Johnathan Ahle in for this one drive, which makes me believe he's live. (4) PANETTONE HANOVER has won two straight since coming to Yonkers and takes another hike up the ladder here. (2) MY ULTIMATE STAR A gets some additional post relief this time and was second behind the romping Gingras Beach last Thursday.
Race 8 - Winners of 2 but not more than 4 PM Races or 60000LT Trot
(5) SKY BOX defeated NW3's handily from post eight when last seen locally on 5-18 and returns tonight after an easy victory in the Excelsior Series at Monticello most recently. (4) MEETMEATTHEBAR has finished with trot in hitting the board in her last two tries and gets post relief off her third-place result last Saturday. (2) CUSTOM FIT moves up in class tonight but did win pretty easily over NW2 company a week ago at Yonkers and also shows a tally down at Harrah's Philadelphia last month.
Race 9 - NW5000L5/12500CLM Pace
(2) JIMMY CONNOR B turned in a game effort from first-over last week and was third. He moves inside on the gate tonight, finds the bottom level and gets reunited with Brennan. He'll be favored and not 9-1 this time, unfortunately. (1) PURPLE POET has a class drop/post relief combo here and was Austin Siegelman's choice of two horses. (3) RULE OF LAW lost Siegelman's services but slides in from the seven-hole to post three and closed in 27 and change in a second-place effort in this class last Saturday.
Race 10 - NW1/17991LT Trot
(5) SUPERNOVA HANOVER plummets out of the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes and Pennsylvania All-Stars and should be able to handle this group as long as he's on his best behavior. This is his second start out of Engblom's barn and with trotting hobbles. (1) NATIONAL LOVE AS has finished second in three straight efforts, including in a NW3 at Yonkers on 5-18. (2) JAKEY JUMPUP hasn't been out of the top three in his last four appearances. He was third in that same NW3 tilt on May 18 that NATIONAL LOVE AS was in.
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Race 11 - NW5000L5/12500CLM Pace
(2) WICHITA LINEMAN shows just a single win thus far in 2024 but has post relief tonight in his latest attempt at the bottom level and also gets a driver switch to Holland, which makes me think he's going to be on or near the lead. (1) DIAMONDBEACH can probably win this race given how good Bucci's barn is going right now and his 27 and change final quarters in his last two tries, but he's also struggled to find the winner's circle this year and occasionally miscues as well. (3) BETTER OFF SINGLE woke up with an improved effort for Engblom last Saturday, and in theory this should be a drop from the $15,000 claimers to the optional $12,500 class.
Race 12 - 15000CLM Pace
(3) THE WILL TO PLAY tallied in the corresponding class to this one at Harrah's Philadelphia back on May 31 and I think his subsequent start down there on 6-7 can be overlooked as he had broken equipment and it was against $20,000 claimers. (6) ITALIAN DELIGHT N went a monstrous mile to win on June 1 as he was parked and battling for the lead almost the entire way. He gets a new pilot tonight with Brennan taking over. (2) SHANWAY N was third in the race won by ITALIAN DELIGHT N two weeks ago and prevailed at this level prior to that.
