Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

New York Yank Wins $175,000 NJSS Final

June 24, 2005

New York Yank captured the $175,000 New Jersey Sire Stakes Final for three-year-old trotting colts and geldings on Thursday night at the Meadowlands. Clearaway was second and 3-5 Ken Warkentin rallied for third. New York Yank, the Peter Haughton winner at two, chipped a full second off his lifetime best with a mile in 1:53.3. Interestingly enough, the first three finishers were all sons of Yankee Glide.

"Self Professed could have got the lead if he could have gone fast enough," said Ron Pierce, the driver of New York Yank. "My horse felt good, and I didn't want to take a chance of having him cross over in front of us and stop. I wasn't sure exactly where Ken Warkentin was. New York Yankstill felt good and strong, and I looked back and saw nobody was coming so I just let him coast home. No question, this is a good horse."

New York Yank, trained by Noel Daley and owned by Adam Victor and Son Stable LLC of New York City, now has two wins in two starts this year. AT two, he won three of five starts. He has banked $314,800 lifetime.

"He was very good tonight," said Daley. "I was very happy with him. He's got a lot of races ahead of him, and like everyone else, he's in the running for the Hambletonian."

Ken Warkentin, the Two-Year-Old Trotting Colt of the Year in 2004, had won his season's debut on June 16 with a strong brush but this time came up short. Jimmy Takter, the trainer of Ken Warkentin had two others - Muscle Memory who was fourth and Q Forty Five, who broke and finished last.

"I was very happy with him," Takter said of Ken Warkentin, named for the Meadowlands announcer. "He was used hard around the backstretch and was keeping up. Basically, we just need some races right now. I'm thinking of the Historic."