Yonkers: Blue Chip Matchmaker Series kicks off on Friday night

The first leg of the Blue Chip Matchmaker Series for pacing mares at Yonkers Raceway was drawn on Monday afternoon (March 13), with a total of 24 entrants necessitating a trio of $40,000 divisions on Friday night's (March 17) ten-race program.

In the first split (race four), there will be a rematch between Drama Act (post four, George Brennan/Ron Burke) and Racine Bell (Jason Bartlett/Dave Dewhurst), the top two finishers in last year's Blue Chip Matchmaker Series final. Those two also faced off in last Friday night's (March 10) F&M Open Handicap Pace, and Drama Act won by a nose in 1:53 1/5.

Easy To Please (post seven, Jordan Stratton/Cory Stratton), third in last year's Blue Chip Matchmaker Series final, is among the entrants in Friday's second section (race five). Easy To Please also checked in behind Drama Act and Racine Bell in that F&M Open Handicap Pace at Yonkers last Friday. She'll meet up with the likes of Lit De Rose (post three, Pat Lachance drives/trains), who won a leg of the Matchmaker and was second in the consolation in 2022.

Lucky Artist A (post five, Braxten Boyd/Ricky Bucci) has won two editions of the F&M Open Handicap Pace at Yonkers this year and will look to keep it going in the third flight (race eight). She'll face a deep group that includes track record holder Gotthegreenlight (post two, Dexter Dunn/Nifty Norman), 2022's Blue Chip Matchmaker Series consolation champion Gia's Surreal (post three, Jason Bartlett/Ed Hart) and another Blue Chip Matchmaker Series finalist from a year ago in Karma Seelster (post six, Matt Kakaley/Andew Adamczyk).

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Preliminary round action in the Blue Chip Matchmaker Series will continue through Friday, April 14 and will conclude with a $125,000 added final that should go for at least $250,000 on April 24. The final of the MGM Borgata Pacing Series and companion consolation races for both events will also occur that night.

Yonkers Raceway is currently operating on a Monday through Friday live racing schedule with post time at 7 p.m. (EST).

The full fields for each of the Blue Chip Matchmaker Series dashes are as follows:

Division 1 - Race 4

1-Alta Madeira N (Tyler Buter/Rob Harmon)
2-Wahs Fire Bug N (Tyler Buter/Amanda Kelley)
3-Morning Has Broken (Jim Marohn Jr./Jared Bako)
4-Drama Act (George Brennan/Ron Burke)
5-Incaseyoudidntknow (Jordan Stratton/Les Givens)
6-Lydeo (George Brennan/Ed Hart)
7-Racine Bell (Jason Bartlett/Dave Dewhurst)
8-McMarkle Sparkle (George Brennan/Scott Di Domenico)

Division 2 - Race 5

1-Annerie N (Scott Zeron/Todd Luther)
2-Mabalene N (Jason Bartlett/Shane Tritton)
3-Lit De Rose (Pat Lachance drives/trains)
4-Uptown Hanover (Jordan Stratton/Jeff Cullipher)
5-Commander Cathy N (Jim Marohn Jr./Scott Di Domenico)
6-Amazing Dream N (Yannick Gingras/Linda Toscano)
7-Easy To Please (Jordan Stratton/Cory Stratton)
8-Dougs Babe A (Dexter Dunn/Nifty Norman)

Division 3 - Race 8

1-Delitfulcatherin N (Jordan Stratton/Jeff Gillis)
2-Gotthegreenlight (Dexter Dunn/Nifty Norman)
3-Gia's Surreal (Jason Bartlett/Ed Hart)
4-The Pantheist A (Brent Holland/Marvin Aguilar)
5-Lucky Artist A (Braxten Boyd/Ricky Bucci)
6-Karma Seelster (Matt Kakaley/Andrew Adamczyk)
7-Majorca N (Corey Callahan/Dylan Davis)
8-Sweet Treasure (Andy McCarthy/Nancy Takter)

--press release (Yonkers)--