It seems that a second consecutive day of sunshine over the New York skyline will put to an end the ongoing saga of live racing cancelations at Yonkers Raceway. Officials at the track not only confirmed the plan is to race on Thursday evening February 10 (as of 10 minutes to post the card was set to go) but also issued a release to the industry to make amends for the series of unfortunate events. Just 23 dates into a 240-night racing schedule, Yonkers Raceway has canceled all or part of seven programs, with the final two races on February 7, the last 11 races on February 8 and the entire card on February 9 the most recent casualties. Fridays have been particularly difficult at the Westchester County oval as the past three cards were canned either due to track maintenance issues or weather. The situation has gotten so dire that the racing community has taken to social media to air their complaints. Jennifer Bongiorno, who sat atop the trainer standings at Yonkers in 2021, was steaming after the track cancelled following the first race on February 8. "They cancel after we ship and cross the George Washington Bridge; they cancel after every horse gets Lasix; they cancel after our grooms prepare horses to warm up. At this point, I'm appalled," said Bongiorno via Facebook. Many of these concerns were answered in a Thursday release by the track where General Manager Ed Domingo expressed that they are committed to limiting future cancelations and informing the racing community in a more timely fashion going forward. He also outlined that MGM Resorts will be distributing $60,000 to the affected horse owners who shipped to the track on February 4, 7 and 8. Complaints about the track surface at Yonkers have been occurring for some time and $500,000 was spent to upgrade the facility in 2021. While all seemed to be going somewhat smoothly in the fall of 2021, a breakdown of the system developed as the weather deteriorated during the winter months. ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter "The footing was very different throughout the whole track. There was no consistency at all," said perennial leading driver Jason Bartlett on the situation Monday (Feb. 7), which he felt started to develop on February 3. "It rained last Thursday and at the end of the night the track was very cuppy . . . on Friday the track looked fine and we raced one qualifier over it but it was really deep, maybe from the warm weather." Driver Scott Zeron, who competed on both Monday and Tuesday nights this past week, saw the writing on the wall as far as the cancelations. "On Monday the track was a little deep and we knew as drivers if it started raining we wouldn't be able to finish," said Zeron. While Standardbred Owners Association President Joe Faraldo has been vocal about the cancellations on social media and thrown around some allegations, he seemed more open to the possibility that the situation will be corrected in the near future when reached via email on February 9. "This is an absolute disgrace, but having said that I do believe it can and will be rectified," said Faraldo, who mentioned that he was hopeful respected trackman Jimmy Shelton would be onsite to oversee operations on Thursday and that the recently hired trackman Gerry Rocco would return from personal leave Monday. Stuck in the middle of the messy situation has been the New York Gaming Commission. While they have been at times accused of standing idly by, the Commission has very much been monitoring the situation and the countless emails between MGM and the SOA of NY. DRF Harness obtained the following statement from the gaming commission: "The Commission has been closely following issues relative to the condition of the racing surface at Yonkers Raceway. In fact. Before each card a Commission judge walks the racetrack to ensure it is safe to conduct the evening's program. Rapidly changing or deteriorating weather is difficult for any track superintendent to overcome, but there is no excuse for being unprepared or failing to expend the effort necessary to achieve a safe racing environment in settled conditions. Horsemen, fans of harness racing, and most importantly - the horses - can all be harmed when race days are abruptly cancelled. We understand that there has been a continuing dialogue between MGM management and the Standardbred Owners Association. We expect these discussions will result in agreement on the timing and manner of preparing the racing surface, but the Commission is prepared to meet with both parties if this untenable situation continues." Whether any potentially unnecessary racing cancellations are in the rearview mirror for Yonkers Raceway remains in question. At least in the here and now, the track which offers the highest purses in North America seems to finally be heading in the right direction.