Yonkers: Track record falls, Pick 5 carries over

Dragon Said became the fastest 4-year-old gelding pacer in Yonkers Raceway's history by winning Tuesday night's (June 29) tenth race in 1:49 4/5.

Driven by Joe Bongiorno in the $24,000 event for non-winners of eight races or $100,000 lifetime, Dragon Said landed in the pocket behind 1-5 favorite Splash Brother (Mark MacDonald), last year's Empire Breeders Classic champion and New York Sire Stakes final runner-up, and tracked him intently through stations of 27, 55 1/5, and 1:22 3/5.

Bongiorno fired Dragon Said two-wide shortly after three-quarters, and he was able to get around Splash Brother before they turned for home. In the lane Dragon Said opened up, and he would hit the wire a length and three-quarters ahead of Splash Brother in the track record clocking.

The time of 1:49 4/5 chipped two-fifths of a second off the previous standard for a 4-year-old gelding pacer of 1:50 1/5 that belonged to Limelight Beach and Go Daddy Go. It was also just a fifth of a second off of Theartofconfusion A's and American History's all-age track record of 1:49 3/5.

This was Dragon Said's seventh consecutive win since being purchased by owner Robert Devine and moved into the Jenn Bongiorno barn in February. The champion of this year's M Life Rewards Gents Pacing Series final at Yonkers, Dragon Said, a son of Well Said, is now a ten-time winner in his career, and he has banked $108,932. Sent off at 5-2, he paid $7.30 to win and led a $5.10 exacta and an $11.90 trifecta.

One race before Dragon Said rewrote the track's record book, 15-1 shot Black Chevron N upset in a 1:53 mile for driver Jason Bartlett, trainer Shane Tritton, and owner VIP Internet Stable LLC. He was uncovered in the evening's Pick 5 sequence, resulting in a $4,404.84 carryover and a $15,000 guaranteed pool in Wednesday night's (June 30) Pick 5 wager.

The guarantee in the Pick 5 is being offered as part of the United States Trotting Association's Strategic Wagering Program. Free HarnessEye past performances for the Pick 5 will be available here. The Pick 5, which begins in race five, has a takeout rate of 20 percent.

Wednesday night's 12-race program at Yonkers kicks off at 7:15 p.m.

--press release (Yonkers)--