Yonkers: Million-dollar Mondays becoming the new norm

When Yonkers Raceway management made the decision to scrap Saturday night racing in favor of Wednesdays and switch its upper-level events to the Monday card, hopes were high that the moves would provide favorable returns. Some five months into the experiment and the results are in . . . and positive.

Since the start of April, total handle has averaged just over one million for the eight programs contested on Monday. The high-water mark came on May 3 when handle was $1,254,745, easily the largest single-night total seen by the track in nearly a decade.

"We really wanted to move the top-class races to Mondays and that's worked out great," said Director of Racing Alex Dadoyan. "Many times those good races could get lost in the shuffle of a crowded weekend simulcast slate but now they can stand out on Mondays. Even if we add back Saturdays to the schedule the top classes are going to stay on the Mondays."

The "Million-Dollar Mondays" are bolstered by the fact that Yonkers has averaged just 10 races per card during the eight-week span, well short of other tracks that typically eclipse that handle bar. Taking the $100,000 average per race as a barometer, a normal 14-race card offered by many tracks would push the Yonkers handle over the $1.5 million plateau on some nights.

The Monday cards at Yonkers typically feature some of the best pacers in North America. The Borgata series was moved from Saturday to Monday in 2021 and was very well-received from a handle standpoint.

Planned Vacation: After racing concludes on Thursday, May 27, Yonkers Raceway will take a mini vacation from live racing while the track undergoes maintenance. Racing will resume on Monday, June 7 with the normal Monday to Friday schedule. Post time remains at 7:15 PM nightly.

Purse Increase: When the post-break condition sheet is released, owners, trainers and drivers will be delighted to see an across-the-board purse increase. All classes will get a boost with some seeing increases approaching 20 percent.

The bottom condition of Non-winners-of-$5,000 (Last 5)/$12,500 Claiming will bump up to $12,500 as the lowest purse offered at Yonkers. The top of the class ladder features multiple Opens getting a boost from $37,000 to $42,000. One of the largest purse increases are for younger horses, with Maidens now going for $14,000 and Non-winners-of-2-races at $16,000.

New to the class system at Yonkers will be a Non-winners-of-$30,000 (Last 5) and $75,000 Claimer which Racing Secretary Bob Miecuna is hoping will fill.

Triple Crown: Yonkers will play host to the first legs of both the Pacing and Trotting Triple Crowns on Friday, July 2. Eliminations for the MGM Yonkers Trot and MGM Grand Messenger Pace are slated for June 25. A total of 44 colts and geldings are eligible to the Yonkers Trot while 38 were nominated to the Messenger. Both events offer a $30,000 supplement option for horses who are not eligible.

More information on racing dates, conditions and stakes events can be found on our website.

-release (Yonkers Raceway)