Yonkers: Analysis for Wednesday 6/26

MEET STATS: 130- 451 / $786.30 (-$115.70)
BEST BETS: 23 - 44 / $87.00 (-$1.00)
SPOT PLAYS: 7 - 44 / $88.40 (+$0.40)
BEST BET - SEMI TOUGH (4th)
SPOT PLAY - ANOTHRMASTRPIECE N (10th)

Race 1 - F&M 20000CLM Pace

(2) LYONS MIKI turned in a nice closing effort when switched to this class last Tuesday, moves inside on the gate a couple of notches and gets another shot to partner with Dan Dube. (6) JUST ROSAS LUCK has two wins and a third in her last three appearances at this level and trainer Travis Alexander continues to send out plenty of live horses. (1) SHOTGUN PERSUASION shows a win and a second since returning from Tioga Downs and had good fortune to draw the rail again.

[DRF HARNESS: Get Harness Eye PPs for this card]

Race 2 - 15000-20000CLM HCP Pace

(6) IMABEACHBOY didn't fire in his last outing on 6-15 but was performing well prior to it and was claimed by Jenn Bongiorno out of that race. I'll look for a return to aggressive tactics and hopefully a win. (4) VICTOR HIC closed out his last mile well against the red-hot Italian Delight N and hit the board against $15,000 claimers at Yonkers on 5-25. (1) ROCK THIS WAY has found his form for Ron Burke in his last two appearances and moves in from post four to the pole position.

[DRF BETS: Wager on tonight's Yonkers card at DRF Bets.com!]

Race 3 - F&M 20000CLM Pace

(4) ROLL WITH SHORTY has had success in this class before and I'll hope the sick scratch on 6-18 hasn't bothered her as she did finish out her mile prior to that with a good 28 1/5 final kicker. (1) LARJON LEAH won two in-a-row last month and is sliding down from the $25,000 claimers to the $20,000 level tonight. (3) DANDY'S SHOWTIME shows three on-the-board finishes in her last four trips behind the gate and is getting significant post relief.

Race 4 - NW20000L5/Winners in the Last Start of the Base Class NW15000L5/NW10 PM Races LT/60000CLM Pace

(4) SEMI TOUGH looks like to me he's facing a much softer group in this class than he did on 6-17 and the final quarters he churned out in his last two outings tell me he's sharp. 3) SHAZAM BLUE CHIP is stepping up a notch but is doing so off a winning effort in a lifetime-best clocking for leading trainer Per Engblom. (2) CENTURY HEINEKEN has been off since mid-April when he was racing against NW30000L5 company. His qualifier down at Gaitway Farm was solid enough, and I'll look for him to fire.

Race 5 - F&M 20000CLM Pace

(1) WESTERN ROSIE switches barns to Izzy Estrada, a move that often results in improved performances. She also gets significant post relief and an aggressive driver in Brent Holland. (2) TYRA MAKES BANK owns two seconds and a win since joining the Alexander barn and is moving in from post four to the two-hole. (4) PLEASURE SEEKER is another sharp one in this contest as she has been outside the top three just once in her last seven tries. She's also shown the ability to race well both from off-the-pace and on or near the lead.

Race 6 - NW10000L5/Winners in the Last Start of the Base Class NW7500L5 Pace

(4) IGNATIUS A takes a second crack at this level after a rallying third-place finish on 6-15 and picks up a new driver with Austin Siegelman taking over. (3) SOHO LENNON A turned in a strong runner-up effort on June 18 in his first start back after a layoff, so you have to think he'll be even sharper tonight. (6) SLING SHOCK comes into this race after finishing second in this class on the 18th of June.

Race 7 - NW7500L5/Winners in the Last Start of the Base Class NW5000L5 Pace

(6) SHADOW CAT was second in this class the last time he raced in it back on 6-1. He moves in a couple of notches after being stuck with post eight last time, and hopefully an aggressive approach is ahead. (4) GREAT SOMEWHERE took one shot against NW10000L5 company on June 15 and now drops back down to the NW7500's where he was a runner-up on the 8th of June. He was also Holland's choice over my top selection. (3) CARABAO A remains winless in the U.S. but he was third in a NW7500L5 tilt at Yonkers late last month and closed well in his last two tries at Pocono.

Race 8 - F&M 20000CLM Pace

This looks like the most wide-open of the many divisions of this class on the card. I'll with (1) JAVA as she has won at Yonkers before, starts from the pole and has been closing out her miles pretty well since coming to Yonkers. (6) SHEIKH YABOOTY N could be the one to beat as she did win at this level on 5-28 and comes out of a second-place effort from the eight-hole most recently. (4) BETTORSHIGHLIGHT N was third against $20,000 claimers on June 11 and is another mare who has been successful at Yonkers in the past.

[DRF HARNESS: Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter]

Race 9 - NW11966L5/Winners in the Last Start of the Base Class NW7500L5 Pace

(3) BENHOPE RULZ N finished third at this level last Tuesday after taking a shuffle. Both of his wins this year have come at Yonkers, and I think he could get another one tonight in this fairly wide-open race. (2) LEVINE has hit the board in two of his last three outings and is getting significant post relief this time. (1) ARDEN MESSI N squeezed into this race by a dollar as he has $11,965 earned in his last five starts. He returns to Yonkers after a winning effort in the corresponding class to this one at Harrah's Philadelphia.

Race 10 - NW15201L5/Winners in the Last Start of the Base Class NW10000L5/NW8 PM Races LT Pace

(6) ANOTHRMASTRPIECE N came in fourth in the Invitational two back. He gets another opportunity to race in this class tonight after finishing second in it on June 3 and moves in a couple of slots from the eight-hole. (3) TRAIN STATION has been racing well as long as he has minded his p's and q's early on, which he did not in his last start on 6-11. Siegelman gets a try with him tonight with Bartlett not here. (1) GREG THE LEG burned some money last Tuesday after finishing second in a NW15000L5 contest as the 4-5 favorite. I'll use underneath but will take a swing at beating him for the top spot.