The influence of imported horses from the Southern Hemisphere continues to grow on these shores. It comes as no surprise that 13 of the 28 horses entered in Monday's first leg of the MGM Borgata Series at Yonkers Raceway have been imported from the region. One trainer, Scott Blackler, has four horses among the five $50,000 divisions, a rather impressive feat given the relative size of his own stable. "I've got 18 horses in training and 13 are imports," Blackler said from his barn at Mark Ford's training center. "Chad (Kowal) got the itch and we keep growing." Kowal is the owner of the four horses racing on Monday night in the Borgata divisions, and he's had a pretty good string of fortune in finding just the right horses. "Frank Ranaldi is our agent and he looks for horses that can go on the half-mile track at Yonkers," said Blackler. "We're looking for horses that can race at the top level with the minimum being the non-winners of $10,000 class," The success of the stable over the last year - where Blackler sent out an incredible 50 winners from just 208 starters - has put the trainer in an awkward position this winter. "Last year we started with horses in lower classes and they were able to move up the ladder," said Blackler. "This year most of the horses are racing in the top classes, and it's been difficult to find races for all of them." With horses starting less frequently, Blackler has been forced just to enter qualifiers to keep horses ready. The decision to nominate as many as he did for the series was a combination of talent and opportunity. "We entered four because we were expecting short fields," said Blackler. Of the four, Skylou N is a relative unknown in North America that first qualified in late February. "I really didn't know much about him before he got here, but when I started to train him, he felt like he could be a top horse, so we nominated him," Blackler said of Skylou N, who drew post six in the first $50,000 division (race two) on Monday. "I really thought he would win his first start (March 10), but he might have been battling a virus," said Blackler. Skylou N is one of five imports in the six-horse first division, with the already-proven Soho Firestone A (post one) making his 2026 debut following a stunning 1:51 2/5 qualifier at Yonkers on March 20. ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter Blackler believes that Heza Charttopper A may benefit from week-to-week action in the Borgata.  A 13-time winner in 2025 with nearly $250K banked while racing at Yonkers almost exclusively, Heza Charttopper A is looking to regain winning form. "He got into himself last year and injured a fetlock," said Blackler. "We had to give him six weeks of stall rest. It was right about the time of the MGM Grand Prix, and we were fortunate they let us put Catalpa Rescue A into the series to take his place." Heza Charttopper A has won just once in five tries in 2026. "I think he'll do much better on a seven-day rotation. It's our plan to race him every week if he's healthy," said Blackler. Heza Charttopper A drew post five in the third race and second division and will have to deal with Redwood Hanover, a multi-leg winner in the MGM Grand Prix who is making his 2026 debut from the pole position for trainer Per Engblom. Catalpa Rescue A was an instant hit for Blackler when he arrived stateside in 2025, winning five of his first six races beginning last August. A son of American Ideal, Catalpa Rescue A closed out the year with a third-place finish behind Coaches Corner and Captain Albano in the $250,000 MGM Grand Prix final. "He's a versatile horse that I think does his best racing coming from off-the-pace," said Blackler. Catalpa Rescue A drew post five in the third $50,000 division carded as race four and could have an edge with three of his rivals making their first starts in 2026. In that group will be Huntinthelastdolar, a 10-time winner in 2025, including a pair of MGM Grand Prix legs. Huntinthelastdolar (post two) won a lone qualifier on March 14 at the Meadowlands in 1:52 2/5. Captain Moore A (post two) drew the best of Blackler's quartet but may have the toughest task given the competition in the seventh race and fifth MGM Borgata division. Coaches Corner (post six) likely has the class edge, if not the conditioning, as he starts back up again for trainer Per Engblom, racing for the first time since his December 19 score in the MGM Grand Prix. "We bought him as a non-winners-of-two horse," said Blackler. Last July Captain Moore A won in non-winners-two races on multiple occasions. The then 4-year-old marched all the way up the class ladder and not only raced with the best at year's end in the MGM Grand Prix but managed to capture the $100,000 consolation for Blackler. With literally no classes, Blackler sent Captain Moore A to race at Pocono in February, and the horse has slowly been rounding into top form. "He won on the front-end last time (March 16 in a Yonkers Invitational) but he got slow fractions," said Blackler. As for Monday night: "I think if he's in position, he can kick home with any of them." In addition to Coaches Corner, this division marks the North American debut for Aroda N, a 7-year-old by Art Major that was racing at the top level in Australia late last year. He has qualified exceptionally well over the Yonkers surface in preparation for the Borgata. Aroda N drew the rail. Blackler won't have a horse in the sixth race division where last year's Borgata champion Mossdale Ben N (post six) will meet Captain Albano (post one) and four others. While there's more than enough talent for Blackler just in the Borgata Series, he sounded excited about the prospects of another horse on the comeback trail and one on a flight due to land imminently on U.S. soil. "I expect Captain Hammerhead to be arriving shortly," said Blackler. "He's been racing Grade 1 competition." A son of Captaintreacherous, Captain Hammerhead is a 15-time winner. Closer to home Blackler is happy thus far with the progress of Jamaican Rock A. "I'd say he's about six weeks away from qualifying," said Blackler of the 7-year-old by A Rocknroll Dance that won half of his 12 starts following his arrival last year and earned $119K on these shores alone. Most notable for Jamaican Rock A was a 1:48 1/5 winning effort taken on Hambletonian Day. He would win multiple Invitationals at Yonkers and was a solid third in the Aria Invitational, racing on the outside the entire way following a post eight getaway. Given the depth of Blackler's stable, 2026 may turn out to be his best year yet.