Lucky Man (#2 Brian Sears) won Saturday's $38,000 Open pace at Yonkers, covering the mile
and one-sixteenth distance in 1:59. Photo courtesy of Sean Hamrock.YONKERS, NY, Saturday, December 3, 2011 -- Favored Lucky Man (Brian Sears) justified his Saturday night support, winning Yonkers Raceway's $38,000 Open Pace.
Away third early from post position No. 2, Lucky Man moved around pole-sitting Rojette's Best (Brent Holland). He grabbed the lead just after a :27.1 opening quarter-mile, then rated a :56.3 half. The soft fractions did nothing for the outer chasers, including a first-up Shooebee's Place (George Brennan).
Lucky Man found three-quarters in 1:24.2, taking a length-and-a-half lead into the lane. He hit the mile marker in 1:52, with Rojette's Best his only threat. That one came up a half-length short, as Lucky Man negotiated the mile-and-one-sixteenth in 1:59.
B J's Bequia (Jason Bartlett), Foreign Officer (Jim Pantaleano) and Code Word (Yannick Gingras) rounded out the payees.
For Lucky Man, a 6-year-old Camluck gelding owned by Thomas Hill and trained by Casie Coleman, he returned $4.10 for his fourth win in 23 seasonal starts. The exacta (two wagering favorites) paid $10.80, with the triple returning $36.
While the horses were slowing down in the first turn after the race, Rojette's Best and Foreign Officer appeared to collide, with both Holland--who was unseated--and Pantaleano getting injured. Both were taken to a local hospital and no other information is available at this time. Rojette's Best was down on the track for several minutes, but did get up.
Yonkers' regular five-night-per-week schedule (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday) remains in effect. First post for all racing programs is 7:10 PM. Evening simulcasting accompanies all live programs, with afternoon simulcasting available around the NYRA schedule.
BY FRANK DRUCKER, Publicity Director, Empire City @ Yonkers Raceway
