Trainer Patrick Lachance is gearing up on both sides of the Hudson River this weekend, with three entered at the Meadowlands and a pair of top-quality older pacers in action at Yonkers. On Friday night Lachance is hoping that he can start to see some promise from the recently-imported Howlingathemoon DK, a 6-year-old gelding by Cantab Hall that has been racing at Yonkers with limited success. "We're still trying to get him figured out," said Lachance, who raced him on the front-end and from off-the-pace in his Yonkers starts without much luck. The shift to the Meadowlands could make a difference since Howlingathemoon DK is entered at the non-winners of $5,000 last four category in Friday's $10,500 sixth race of 14 on the program. "He was running in on the turns at Yonkers," said Lachance, addressing his reasoning for trying the mile oval in East Rutherford, New Jersey. "He had some health issues that we're working through." Lachance was noting that many foreign horses need to deal with different kind of viruses and that could be keeping them from performing at optimal levels. Howlingathemoon DK did win 11 times in 27 starts in Europe, and Lachance is hoping that he can become a productive "mid-level" conditioned horse once on the right path. Lachance has Santafe's Appetite entered in Friday's $15,000 fillies and mares event for non-winners of $5,000 in their last four starts (race 10) and despite the 5-year-old mare entering off a two-race win streak, was cautiously optimistic of her chances on Friday. "She's a one-run type of mare that has absolutely no gate speed," said Lachance. "She'll give you a solid closing kick, but everything will depend on the speed up front in the mile." Santafe's Appetite (post six) defeated a group that looks similar on paper last Saturday (March 1) at the Meadowlands, but Lachance thinks this week's race looks a bit different. "A lot of times you get horses dropping into this class and the race is tougher than the same class a week before," Lachance said. Madrid A (post seven) is one such mare, having raced in non-winners of $12,500 last four company on February 22, as is Taking The Miki A (post eight), a mare from the Jeff Cullipher stable coming off a solid first-time Lasix qualifier on March 1. On Saturday night Lachance has what he believes is his best chance of success from the weekend Meadowlands trio, with Viva Las Vegas N in the non-winners of $3,000 last four conditioned event carded as race 13. "He should do well against that company," said Lachance of the 9-year-old veteran son of Sweet Lou that has been racing against a better class of horse at Yonkers over the last month. ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter On the Yonkers front, Lachance said that last year's Blue Chip Matchmaker champion Lit De Rose is about ready to see the racetrack once again after a winter break. "I'm going to qualify her on Friday (March 7), and we're going to try her again in the Matchmaker," Lachance said of the stakes series that begins on March 28. "She's a 10-year-old now, so I really don't how much to expect," said Lachance, who has done a masterful job over the last two years with the Quebec-bred mare. She accumulated 19 victories in 2023-24 and banked more than $700K, likely the reason ownership elected to bring her back to race in 2025 as opposed to the free breeding earned in last year's Blue Chip Matchmaker final. On Monday another stable star – Verdun – will be in action at Yonkers in the $35,000 Invitational, and Lachance is quite optimistic how his horse will compete in the coming Borgata Series that has its opening leg scheduled for March 31. Lachance claimed Verdun for $60,000 last July for owner Tom Ceraso Jr. and has seen the son of Bettor's Delight return more than double that in earnings since. "I've had a lot of success with Bettor's Delights," said Lachance of the initial draw to the horse. "He was pacing in 1:51 and change at Yonkers and looked like a good buy." Verdun would be a dominant force at Yonkers during the fall season while capturing the Open events for 3-5 year-olds with regularity and then found his way into the MGM Grand Prix Series at year's end. "He finished third in the opening leg and then he got sick," said Lachance. "We decided to race him in the Open instead and then when it didn't fill the following week we entered him in the Grand Prix." Verdun was a solid second behind Coaches Corner in the final preliminary leg, bolstering Lachance's belief in success in the coming Borgata. "He's had two seconds since coming back," said Lachance. "He was very strong last week at the end." Verdun made up a ton of ground while coming from seventh to finish second in the Invitational on March 3. Lachance is old enough to recall the quality of horses produced by Bettor's Delight's grand-sire Most Happy Fella. "The Most Happy Fella's were a tough breed but they would interfere," said Lachance. "The Bettor's Delights have that same toughness but with a much smoother gait." The trainer suggested that Verdun's strength is in his will to win as well as a flawless gait, a perfect combination for high-level racing at Yonkers.